


The Find A Way Home Job

by crayonbreakygal



Category: Leverage
Genre: Drama, F/M, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-28 20:30:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 45,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8461894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crayonbreakygal/pseuds/crayonbreakygal
Summary: Nate wakes up to a world that is foreign to him.  He doesn't know who he is and where he belongs.





	1. Nate's Doesn't Know Who He Is

**Author's Note:**

> AU that takes place possibly anytime from season three to season five. It has flavors of Game of Thrones thrown in, although it doesn't take place in that universe. It's also an excuse for Sophie and Nate to get together. Lots of sex and violence and a hint of rape that happened before the story takes place. Just a warning for everyone.

The Find A Way Home Job

AU story that could take place between season three and season five.

 

Chapter One--Nate Doesn't Know Who He Is

The scenery was bleak.  Leaves had already fallen from the trees, leaving the landscape somewhat bare.  It was all gray, washed out from the waning light to the west.  The sunset wasn’t spectacular, it was morbid, like it would sink and never reappear. That was the last thing he saw as he drifted off to sleep, lying in an open field, wet and cold, dying from something even he didn’t know how to name.

 

“We have to help him.”

“We can’t. She said to be back. It’s gettin’ dark.”

“Jesus, we just can’t leave him.  She’ll be pissed.  We need him. She needs him.”

“Hold on.  Help me pick him up.”

His bones felt brittle as the hands grasped his legs, his arms, swinging him from side to side.  He cried out in pain, making the two who picked him up stop.

“Shit.  Did we break him?”

“You can’t break someone.  Well, you can break a bone, but he was already hurt.”

“What the hell is going on?” he heard a voice call out in the distance.

“We found somethin’,” the man yelled back.

“Or someone.  You might wanna be a little more specific.”

He cracked his eyes open, looking up at the two who had just unceremoniously dumped him back on the hard ground.  At least the pain that they had caused had ebbed once he was back on solid ground.

“What did you find?  Please tell me it’s those tubers. We need those to trade.”

“I wish. Somethin’ tells me she ain’t gonna like this.”

“Not so sure.”

As he looked up into the sky, he saw clouds float by, birds flying off in the distance.  One of the men, or boys since it was difficult to tell how old they were bundled up in cold weather gear, stood over him, blocking his view.  He couldn’t see the face all that well since his vision was blurry.

“Oh no,” the voice, probably a woman said as she approached.  “Well, just don’t stand there.  We have to do something.”

Her voice was lilting, almost melodic.  She could sing him to sleep, make him go off into dreamland feeling safe and secure.

Bending down into his line of sight, all he could focus on was the scar on her cheek.  Someone had marred her skin, probably on purpose by the looks of how it was shaped.  Her dark eyes probed his, making him shiver.

“He looks to be ill.  Let’s get him inside.”

“Inside?” one of the men disagreed with her.

“He’ll die of exposure out here.”

“We can’t, we just can’t take him on.”

“And when have we turned down anyone?”

“Plenty of times,” one of them pointed out to her.

“Well, this one we can’t.  We can’t afford to.”

A gentle hand stroked across his cheek.  Had it been so long that no one had touched him? 

“He’s running a fever.”

Probably why he was starting to shiver even more, the cold wind cutting through his threadbare clothing.

“Just don’t stand there.  Let’s get to it.”

“When we picked him up, he screamed in pain.”

The woman went about probing and checking him, frowning up to the others.

“He’s been shot.”

“Oh well.  So we really need to take this guy in,” one of the men sarcastically noted.

“He’ll die.”

“Here, let me just get him over my shoulder.  Quicker.  May not be less painful though.”

It almost felt like being shot as the man yanked him over his shoulder, arms dangling down toward the ground.  Passing out was a favor to him.  That much pain he couldn’t deal.

 

He awoke to comfort.  A soft bed, warm air, blankets. He was cocooned under several blankets. The room was small, but homey, light spilling into the windows.  It must be daytime, he thought.  How long had he been out? He remembered being picked up in that field, then nothing.  Groaning as he rolled to his side, he realized there was no way he would get up without assistance.

“Wait, wait. Stop.  You cannot get out of bed like that.”

The woman, the one from the field stood over him. She must have appeared when he had tried to get out of bed.

“I have to go,” he managed to mumble, grimacing in pain.

“Go?  Where on earth could you go?  Besides, that wound is infected.”

Wound? He was wounded?  He couldn’t even remember how he’d gotten to that field much less being injured.

“I don’t remember. What happened?”

“You don’t remember being shot? Well, that’s a first.  Just lie back.  I’ll bring you something to drink.”

He did as he was told because he didn’t think he’d be able to get up anyway.  The woman quickly brought him some water.

“Drink slowly.  That’s it.”

It took all the energy he had to even sit up enough to drink the water.  As he lay back finally, he got a clear look at his savior from the field. The scar wasn’t as prominent as it had been that first look.  Her hair was piled up on top of her head, the color almost black, a streak of grey right at the front.  Was she older or younger than he was?  He had no idea.  She seemed ageless, although he noticed the crinkle around her eyes as she smiled down at him.

“Where am I?” he whispered.

“My house. Now don’t you worry.”

“Worry?”

“I won’t turn you in.  You’re mine now.”

Mine now?  Why would he belong to her now?  Where was he?  He couldn’t remember where he was before? 

“Do you have a name?”

It puzzled him.  He couldn’t remember who he was.  He couldn’t remember where he’d been before.  He couldn’t remember anything before waking up in that field.

“How long was I out?”

“A few days.  Here. Drink more.  I’m certain that you’re dehydrated.”

The water felt good on his throat, like he hadn’t had anything to drink in a long time.  Her hand came down to his face again, feeling his forehead. He remembered doing that, feeling a child’s forehead, smiling as he did.  The memory flashed, then disappeared as suddenly as it came.

“I don’t know. I don’t know where I am.”

“You’re still weak.  Just give it time.”

“I don’t know my name.”

“Don’t worry. It will come back to you.”

With that, he drifted back to sleep, wound throbbing, mind jumbled with thoughts of people he didn’t know or recognize.


	2. Nate Meets His Savior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate meets the person who saved him.

Chapter Two--Nate Meets His Savior

“You need to eat. She said so.”

He woke again to a different person, this one tall, dark and menacing.  This was not good, he thought as he struggled to free himself from the blankets.

“Ok, wait. She’s gonna kill me if you hurt yourself.  It’s just food.  You gotta keep up your strength.”

What he thought was menacing turned into something much less so when he saw the worry etched on the man's face.  He was young, very young as far as he could tell, but as the man smiled a huge smile, he realized that the man probably was not going to hurt him, so he settled down.

“Now, you gonna eat this for me, so Soph is happy.  You got it?  ‘Cause no one loves it when she’s unhappy.”

It took quite a bit of maneuvering to sit up, but with the man’s help he finally did, pillows behind his back supporting him. The bread was good, he’d give whoever fixed it a thank you when he could.  It tasted like heaven.

“Gotta put some meat on those bones.  I thought I was skinny.  You all weigh next to nuthin’.  Once you’re feelin’ up to it, you should probably get cleaned up.  I really don’t want to have to open up a window in here.”

He could smell dried blood and sweat and his hair itched.

“If I can stand.”

“That’s why you are eating.  I really don’t want to help, if you know what I mean.”

He knew what the man meant because he could tell that he didn’t have a stitch of clothing on underneath all the blankets.

“Those clothes you had on had to be burned.  You lucky we have lots of extras.”

“Was I carrying anything? I mean ID or anything else?”

“Yeah.  Let me get it.”

The man left the room as he finished up what he’d been brought to eat and drink.  It felt good to have something in his stomach. He had a feeling that had not happened in a long time.

“Here, wallet, no money.  Not like it’d do any good.  Other pocket was a key. I do not know what that goes to.”

As the man handed over what was in his pockets, another image flashed in front of his eyes.  A door, a number beside it, smells of cooking emerging as he opened it.  It must be home, he thought.  That must be where he had lived, once upon a time.  The image disappeared as soon as it had come. 

As he opened the wallet, there were cards, some credit cards, an ID and a faded picture of a child. He had no idea who the child was.  The ID though had his picture staring up at him.  He didn’t know who that man was.  Did it look like him?  It just didn’t register.

“Oh, hey.  You have a name.”

“I do.”

He didn’t know that name. Could it be him? It had to be.

“Nathan Ford.  Boston.  You far away from home.  Since Boston doesn’t exist anymore, I dunno man.  This is old, probably five years or more.”

Boston didn’t exist?  He knew Boston, knew the streets, knew where to buy the best hot dog, knew how to get to Fenway. Why didn’t he recognize his own picture on his ID?

“I, um, don’t know.”

“Hey, you were pretty hurt. It’ll come.  Just relax and get better.”

“Thanks.”

“Clothes at the foot of the bed. It’s the best we can do without knowing your size.  Bathroom’s to the left once you walk out the door.  Just give a holler if you need something.”

“Your name?  You have a name?”

“Alec Hardison, Mr. Ford.”

It was like a punch to the gut. He knew that name.  Images flashed before him.  It was the same guy, only different.

“Alec?”

“Yep, that’s me.”

It took him quite a while to work up the energy to actually turn his legs and put his feet on the ground.  Not having any clothing on made him a little wary of getting up, not knowing if the woman would show up at any time.  He felt old, weary, beat up and basically like he’d been sent to die here.  The ID had told him that he wasn’t exactly a spring chicken, much older than Mr. Hardison by a long shot.  So he was around 50? He felt like he was 80. Must be all the grey hair on his chest.

The bandage on his side pulled as he placed his feet on the ground. Dried blood coated his side, up to his arm. One hand looked to have been covered by it at some point, like he was holding onto it, trying to stop the bleeding.  He must have succeeded somewhat because he wasn’t dead.  Or at least he thought he wasn’t dead.

Nathan Ford.  That was his name. It didn’t ring a bell. At least it was short so he could remember it if anyone asked who he was.  The floor underneath his feet was wood, cold to the touch.  A rug, which had probably been right beside the bed, had moved a few inches. Once his feet touched that, the cold disappeared. It was soft, inviting, looked to be old and well cared for.  As he shuffled his feet forward, he yanked one of the blankets off to cover himself just in case.  He was glad he did because the raven-haired beauty entered the room right after he did.

“What are you doing up?  Please do not pull those stitches out.”

The hairstyle was different from the day before, now in a braid that fell down her shoulder, almost to her waist.  The sweater and pants were comfortable on her, like she’d been working on something that needed freedom of movement. He smelled dirt, like she’d been working in a garden. Her hands showed smudges of it on her fingers, some of it worked up into the fingernails.

“Bathroom.”

“You definitely need to do that.  Thought I was going to have to open a window.”

“Sorry,” he told her as he put one foot in front of the other.

“Oh, no worries. Not your fault.  Let me get your clothes.  I see that Hardison found you something suitable to wear.”

Her accent was intriguing.

“English?”

“Oh, oh, my accent. I’m from England originally.”

“I’m from Boston, apparently. Are we in England?”

He made it to the door before he had to stop and lean against it.

“Just take it slow.”

Her arm hovered near him, like she’d catch him if he fell.  Underneath all those clothes, she probably wasn’t that large if by looking at her hands.  They were delicate, even with the ragged edged fingernails and dirt.

“Yes, Hardison said you’d looked through your wallet.”

“Nathan Ford,” rolled off his tongue, sounding strange and out of place.

“I’m Sophie, Mr. Ford.”

“Sophie, my savior.”

“Indeed.”

Luckily the bathroom was right beside the room where he had lay recuperating.  He didn’t think he could have moved much more than that. Sitting down on a bench inside the room, he watched as she fluttered about, finding soap, shampoo, turning on the water.

“Shower or bath?”

“Excuse me?”

“Would you like a shower or bath? I’m not sure you could stand for a shower. I could help you in your bath if you’d like.”

That made him realize that she must have been the one that stripped him of his clothes.  She’d seen him naked.  He felt a blush come on, ears warming up. 

“Bath. I can manage.”

“Just make sure that you don’t take that bandage off. It’s waterproof, but I’ll have to change it once you’re clean.”

Clean.  He hadn’t been clean for quite some time. 

Sophie placed all that he would need within arm’s distance so he could reach it all without that much effort. Once the tub was sufficiently full enough for him to get into, she started to leave.

“Nathan, once you’re cleaned up, I can help you back if need be.”

“Yeah,” he finished, the use of his name in her voice calling up images of her.

He knew her. He just didn’t know how he knew her.  Maybe it was the way she smelled, the way she smiled at him just then. He could imagine her in heels, short dresses, hair styled, not that messy braid or definitely not the grey streak in the front, framing her face. Just like he thought he knew Alec Hardison, he had an even stronger connection to this woman.

“All set?”

“All set,” he answered back.

Getting into the tub was a bit of a chore, but once he sunk down into the heat, it felt like heaven.  He just sat there, curling up his legs until they were parallel to the rest of his body, arms clutching them tight.  The images were too much when they happened, making his head swim.  He willed them away, not wanting to know just yet what had happened to him.  He needed to heal, to find out where he was, and figure out a way to go home, if home still existed. Dunking his head under water, he stayed there for a few moments, looking up through the water at the ceiling of the room.

The house was old, which he could tell, by the woodwork on the windows, the old hardwood floors, the radiators in each room.  He was very glad that the heat worked. His bones were cold. The warm water was heating him up, making him feel human again.  Coming up for air, he grabbed for the shampoo, feeling the stitches pull just a little.  He’d have to be careful not to mess that up.  Getting stitches while he was out was one thing, having to redo them while he was awake and cognizant of what was going on was another.

After washing his hair twice, he managed to clean the rest of himself, then just sat there, hoping that he could do this again in the near future. It felt good to be clean.  He’d have to remember that. Standing up wasn’t so easy, but as his leg touched the ground, he knew he’d be able to get dressed and make it back into the room before Sophie came knocking again.  Just by being clean, it gave him energy to finish the rest of what he needed to do.

Except when he looked in the mirror, it shocked him.  He really didn’t look like the picture on the ID.  The hair in the picture was longer, curlier, much less grey, no beard. Dammit, he thought he felt old. Now he knew he was old.  More creases around the eyes, bloodshot from the fever made him look sicker than he probably was.  His face was filled out more in the picture too.  Hardison had told him that he was skinny.  He could see his ribs in the mirror, collarbone prominent. His arms probably had once held more mass, not like Hardison because the man had massive arms. All he could think was he’d been starving before.  Not enough to eat plus gunshot to the side.  What a mess.

The shaving would have to wait because he didn’t have the strength to stand there too much longer.  Once he brushed his teeth, which luckily he had all of them, he slipped on the clothes that Hardison had provided him.  They fit somewhat, but were still too big.  Right length, not the right girth.  It didn’t matter.  He was going to end up back on that bed for a while longer.  No way was he going to be able to get around until he managed to heal. 

Shuffling back to the door, he hesitated, nearly falling over the weakness that hit him full force at that moment. He immediately tried to block out any images that came to mind, ultimately shutting his brain down enough where all he thought about was the pain that was starting to radiate up his side. As he pulled the door open to the bathroom, he grabbed on to the door handle, but must have missed it enough that he went crashing to the floor.

“Fuck,” he screamed as he hit his side against the door in the fall.

“Nathan,” Sophie’s voice came from another room.

She raced down the hall, hands immediately checking him over to see if he had injured himself further.

“I slipped.”

“I can see.  Let’s get you up and in bed.  Enough wandering around.  You’re clean at least.”

She smelled of jasmine, her hair tickling his nose as she placed his arm around her shoulder.

“Up we go.”

He thought she’d crumble under his weight, but she looked stronger than he thought she was. Putting one foot in front of the other, she slowly helped him back to the bed, pushing and pulling until he collapsed in a heap, glad to be back on its softness.

“I changed the sheets.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“There was a bit of blood on them from stitching you up. Just rest.  I’ll bring up more food later.”

“You’re an angel.”

She turned her head to the side when he said that.

“No one’s ever called me an angel. Possibly bitch or crazy, but never an angel.”

“Well, you are.”

“Thank you, Nathan.  Pleasant dreams.”


	3. Nate Meets Everyone Else

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot and Parker finally make an appearance. Nate still doesn't know what's going on.

Chapter Three--Nate Meets Everyone Else

The dreams weren’t all that pleasant and had left him gasping for breath in the early morning hours. The room had cooled during the night, probably because someone had turned the heat down once all the occupants were in bed to save on energy.  He was hot though, almost sweating from all the blankets and the figure that lay right beside him.

Nathan hadn’t noticed that she had climbed in beside him that night.  He was too far gone after eating his fill of whatever had been fixed for dinner.  His stomach didn’t growl anymore, making him feel content and drowsy.  Now all he could feel was confusion.  Why was she in the bed with him?  For warmth? It certainly was warm under the blankets.  Then it dawned on him.  He was in her bed, in her room.  It was just feminine enough, but not overly so, to be her own bedroom.  She’d put him in there, to heal.  There probably wasn’t another bed for her to sleep in.

God she was beautiful in the waning moonlight, hair fanned out over the pillow, not encumbered by a tieback or braid.  The scar did not detract from her beauty.  Her neck was exposed, chin tilted up. An image came to mind, his mouth on her neck, hearing her moan as his lips hit the right spot. He wanted to scramble out of the bed, put some distance between the two of them, but the pain in his side made him think twice.  He’d fallen not too many hours before.  It wouldn’t help if it happened again. He’d have to figure out how to not react to her body being next to his, for his sake as well as hers.

Settling back down, Nathan drifted off finally, after her hand landed on his shoulder, if just to reassure him that she was there, looking out for him as his mind shut down once and for all.

 

The next few days it rained on and off, clouds hiding the sunlight. Nathan didn’t get out of bed that much, only to use the bathroom.  It made sense that he couldn’t move very much, but his mind also didn’t want to move.  If he moved, experienced new things, then it would make this dream much too real. 

“Nathan?” Sophie called as she brought him breakfast on the fifth morning or what he thought was the fifth morning that he had been awake. “I think it’s time that you got out of bed, darling.”

The word was like a wound to the heart.  His breathing picked up, causing him to slump over in the bed.  He’d had anxiety attacks before, he thought. He must have.  It felt like his chest was caving in on him.

“Oh dear.  Nathan.  You have to stop this nonsense.  Don’t hide from me.  It’s alright,” she chanted as she stroked his brow, pushed her fingers through his short hair, somewhat calming him as she did.

“Don’t call me that.”

“I won’t. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Call me, call me Nate. Not Nathan.”

“Alright, Nate.”

He’d grabbed her hand when his panic attack was at its worst, not letting go.  Her hand was supposed to be smooth to the touch, not callused, fingers dry from too much water, too much sun.  They were cracked in places, probably from being washed too many times. 

 

Days turned into weeks until the ground started to freeze.  No snow yet, but it was coming.  He felt it in his bones.  He wandered around the house now, which wasn’t that large, sometimes reading what Sophie had, sometimes staring out the window at the nothingness beyond.  He squashed the images that sometimes appeared as quickly as they came, knowing that whatever or whenever they were from, he wasn’t going to get that back ever again.

He met the other man, the one that had carried him back from the field, coming back from hunting.  He was carrying a carcass of some sort, probably a deer. The man was not tall at all like Hardison, but was thick, muscles, arms almost as large as tree trunks, legs even more so.  His accent was thick, probably southern in origin and sometimes hard to understand.  Hardison’s was too at times, but Nate just ignored what they said sometimes just to compensate. The blood from the deer all over the front of the man had made Nate queasy, but he figured that if he looked away, he’d look weak.

“Hey,” the man started as Nate stared at the blood. “You weren’t awake when I left.  I had to go so far out there to find this.  Gonna fetch a pretty penny, I bet.”

“Just get it out of my front yard,” Sophie yelled back at him.

“Eliot. Eliot Spencer. I’d shake your hand but you’re not lookin’ so good right now.  It’s the blood. It’ll do that to ya.”

Not that Nate minded blood because he’s seen enough of his own to last a lifetime.  This had congealed on the front of Eliot Spencer and smelled ripe, like the dead.

“And don’t you come into my house like that.”

“Yeah, yeah.  It’s gonna be cold out here.”

“You should have thought about that beforehand.”

What Nate had noticed was neither one of the men would mess with Sophie. She’d order them around, make them do things for her.  He didn’t think she owned them or they were employed by her.  It was like she was the leader and they were her followers.  They didn’t bow down before her, but they most certainly jumped when she said jump.  There was nothing else going on between them either, he thought, or he would have noticed.  She still stayed in the same room with him, even though he was healing nicely.  He didn’t blame her though.  There were no other beds in the house except the ones the men used.  Nate was the usurper here. She possibly just liked the company.

“And you’re not gonna be any help, damn city boy.”

Nate was at least ten years older than Eliot, probably older because it was hard to tell how old the man was with all the scars on his face and neck. He’d been in some kind of battle once upon a time.  Maybe he’d won because he was standing directly in front of Nate, alive and well, blood dripping down his backside because the damn deer was hanging from his shoulder.

“No, not unless you want me to throw up.”

“Dammit, Hardison.”

Those two words rang in his head, like he’d heard them a thousand times. They had no weight to them, like Eliot was angry at the younger man.  It was like he was calling Alec to tell him he was back from his trip.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got a problem?”

“Go and find me some clothes.  Miss I don’t want blood in my house ain’t gonna let me in until I clean up.”

“Gonna be cold.”

“Figurin’ that.”

Eliot carried the dead deer to the back of the house, trail of blood in his wake.

“Never cleans up after himself,” Sophie sighed from the porch.

Her scuffed up boots covered up the trail with a few swipes at the dirt.  The rain would clear it out faster, but she didn’t like the looks of it from what he could tell.

“At least it’ll rain later.  Come Nate.  Help me.”

Help her? She’d never asked him to help her. He slowly followed her back into the house, eyes glued to her backside.  Even if she didn’t sway her hips more, he’d still follow her.  He’d felt it against him several times at night recently, snuggled up for warmth.  She was killing him slowly, even though she’d never even looked at him during the day like she might like him.  Her face was shuttered most of the time, not revealing anything to him what she was feeling at the time.  It was like she was guarding her secrets from him, except in the middle of the night when she cried out suddenly or had taken to snuggling with him without being awake.

“I need these things inventoried. I have to pay the magistrate soon and I want to have a correct accounting so as to not get screwed over. Hardison does an adequate job, he just misses things occasionally. It would be nice to have another set of eyes on this.”

“Sure. Not a problem.”

“If you feel up to it?”

“I’m ok.”

“Ok?  Physically I think you’re on the mend. I do worry about you though.”

“How so?” he asked as she handed him a worn notebook and pencil.

“That haunted look in your eyes. You don’t remember much of what you were before.  We didn’t find a head wound although it’s hard to tell without modern medicine if you had a concussion.”

Modern medicine?  It was like something had been taken away from them.

“It’ll take time to get it back. No worries though. You can stay as long as you like.”

“Sophie, I appreciate what you’ve done for me.  Any way I can repay you, I will.”

“Nice to hear,” her voice cracked as she said that.

That was the first indication that something was a bit off in what he was seeing.  It was always in the back of his mind, wondering what they were doing.  Indeed it did seem like just survival, but something else was at work here.  He’d find out soon enough though.

“Well, this is a start.  It might give my brain something to do.”

“No more brooding.  It’s not good for the soul.”

Sophie led him to the basement and showed him what she needed done.  He’d never been down there before.  It seemed to be off limits, but now that he had seen what she needed done, he was surprised.

“You see, we need to pay the magistrate.  I need to choose three items that are of value to him.”

The basement was filled with artwork, treasures and other things most definitely worth lots of money.  What on earth had he fallen into?

“Could you be more specific?”

“I’m thinking one of the landscapes, possibly two.  A sculpture and look through the jewelry.  Anything flashy is what he likes. Anything to turn his head away from other things that he might want that I am not willing to give him.”

There was a bit of menace in her voice as she said that last request.  Obviously this magistrate required payment in trinkets.  Did he or she want other kinds of payment and Sophie was trying to head it off without conflict?

Nate wrote very detailed descriptions of each object that might fit her bill, hoping that would satisfy her needs. It took him most of the day. His eyes drooped a bit as he finished up the last of the pieces, hoping this would be it.

“You know, it’s not going to work.”

The girl who appeared out of nowhere scared him, making him drop the notebook and pencil.

“Hey, it’s not nice to scare people.”

“It’s not going to work. He’s not going to want just these things. I’ve told Sophie before.  She won’t listen.”

“Who are you?”

“Who wants to know?”

“Just asking. I hadn’t seen you before.”

“Well, you probably won’t again.”

“Can I ask why?”

“No.”

With that, the girl was gone before he could ask another question. She was a thin girl, blonde hair matted, face dirty.  That was all he could get before she had disappeared into thin air.

It took another day for Sophie to make up her mind what she wanted, then he had to get each item and pack them to her satisfaction. 

“There was a girl, down in the basement yesterday.  I thought you should know,” he told Sophie that night before going to bed. “I think you already know that. It’s just I’m making sure.”

“Oh, that’s Parker.  I’m surprised she showed herself. She usually is very careful in making new friends. She must like you.”

Like him? She only talked to him for no more than thirty seconds at the most.

“Like me?”

“She’s very shy and very quiet.  Did she scare you?” Sophie asked as she handed him a dish to put away.

“Yeah.  I didn’t hear her.”

“And you never will.  She’s harmless.”

“And needs a bath.”

“Oh, I’m working on that. She most certainly does,” Sophie laughed out loud.

He’d never heard her laugh all the months he’d been there.  As he looked at her, he saw how much younger she seemed when she did.  Her cheeks colored somewhat as he gazed at her, not taking his eyes away.

“Off to bed with you.  You’re still regaining your strength.”

He did as he was told, just like the others. He wondered if Parker took orders too, but he doubted it. She had the rest of them wrapped around her finger though.  He was sure of that.


	4. The Magistrate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The magistrate arrives to get his payment. Sophie makes her move, confusing Nate.

Chapter Four--The Magistrate

“Find Parker now. Make sure she’s not in the basement. Go, Hardison.”

Nate had never seen Sophie so upset and jumpy.  He’d only known her as serene and unflappable.  Here she was bolting windows down, making sure everything was locked up tight. Since he hadn’t seen a soul other than the four of them for months, he had no idea what made her so jumpy.

“What are we gonna do about him? Hard to hide a guy,” Eliot surmised.

“I don’t know.  Just make sure Parker is not in sight. I don’t want them keying on her.”

“She’s quiet as a church mouse. You know that,” Eliot reminded her.

“I know.  I know. I just don’t want, dammit. Breathe, breathe.  Hardison?”

“No sign of her. She’s gone to ground.”

“Good, good.”

“What are we gonna do about him?”

They all looked at him, the two men with pity.  Oh shit, now what had he gotten himself into?

“We’ll be fine.  It’ll be fine.”

“No, it won’t.  What happened the last time?”

“It’s been two years. I know. Don’t you think I know?”

“If you’re doin’ this to protect us, darlin’, then just stop.”

“You can’t fight your way out of this, Eliot.  It won’t work.  Just let me think.”

Nate watched as the three argued amongst themselves. It was like they were arguing about him without him being there.

“Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?”

“He needs to know,” Eliot told Sophie.

“The magistrate’s guard. They’re coming.”

“I thought that’s what the payment was for.  Just tell me what is going on?”

“Maybe if we add on something enticing.”

“You are not offering yourself up to him. Do you hear me?” Eliot growled.

“I was not suggesting that I would.”

She was going to prostitute herself to some magistrate? What kind of place did he land in?

“Besides, I’m too old. He’s told me that before. Make sure Parker is nowhere in sight.”

Too old?  She was beautiful. He didn’t understand at all what was going on. 

Eliot’s eyes closed, like he was in a trance.  As he opened them, he pointed to the door.

“It’s only two cars, possibly three. Not the whole cavalry.  Probably just a messenger.”

“They’ll still search.”

“I know.  Just play it safe, Soph.”

Sophie twisted her hands back and forth, nervous for what was to come.

“We could hide him,” Hardison suggested.

“No,” she responded determined. “It won’t work.”

Nate had a feeling he was being played since none of them would look him in the eye.  His side twinged, but he thought his best course of action was to get away as fast as he could.  Before he could leave the room, Eliot stopped him with a hand.

“It’s too late. They’d find you. It’s better if just stay where you are. She’ll protect you.  Don’t worry.”

Eliot sounded like he shouldn’t worry, but Nate was worried. He didn’t want to be some sacrificial lamb put out to slaughter.

“How? How is she going to protect me?”

“Because she’s Sophie Devereaux.  No one messes with Sophie Devereaux and lives to tell the tale.”

She was dangerous?  Flashes of Sophie dressed in a red dress, smiling at him.  Not now, he told his mind. It wasn’t the time to dream of her as she might have been so many years ago.

“Just stick close. And when I mean close, I mean close, Nate.  Behind me, touching me at all times.  You must understand that you have to follow every order that I give you. Do you understand?”

“Hey, man. I’d do it if you want to live.”

“Hardison, no one is taking him away from me. He’s mine.”

Nate looked from Eliot to Hardison, hoping that what she said wasn’t true. No one owned him and he’d tell her so right after what was going to happen occurred.  He didn’t want to rattle her, so he held his opinions.

“I’ll explain later, Nate.  Just don’t mess with me right now.”

Taking a deep breath, Sophie waited until she heard the cars approach the house.  Taking his hand in hers, she stepped out into the cold air, hand tight so he couldn’t bolt.

“Whatever you do, do not say a word. No name, anything.  I don’t want to give them any advantage.”

He had no other choice in the matter. It looked to be at least six heavily armed men.  Parker luckily was nowhere to be seen.

“Afternoon, Ms. Devereaux,” said what looked to be the man in charge.

The man was huge, blue eyes taking in the whole scene like he was possibly military in origin. Eliot kept a close eye on this one.  Nate kept his eyes squarely on Sophie’s back to not draw attention.

“Well, what’ll have here?” the man started.

“Back off, Vance.  He’s mine.”

Vance held up his hands, like he knew not to mess with Sophie.

“He’s not gonna be pleased. Wanted you for himself this time.”

“She’s too old,” Hardison grumbled.

“He’s willing to overlook some of the rules.”

“I’ll bet,” Eliot squared off with the larger man.

“Not gonna be pleased at all. Here.  The invitation.”

Sophie shuddered as she took the envelope from Vance.

“When?”

“Three months. You got payment.”

“I will bring it with me when I come.”

“I can take…”

“I don’t trust you, Vance. Get off my porch.”

The other men in the group eyed Sophie warily, but didn’t draw their guns. They could have and taken whatever they wanted.  They didn’t.

“Moreau ain’t gonna be pleased. At least you got one that can walk this time.  Ain’t he pretty?”

Vance tried to reach around Sophie to touch Nate, but Nate backed his head just out of reach before he could.

“My, ain’t he feisty.  Good for you, Devereaux. Be there. Three months.  It should be fun.  Make sure she doesn’t unman you fella, before then.”

Eliot growled Vance’s way, telling him without words that his patience was wearing thin.

“Moreau sends his regards Eliot.  You’re still as ornery as ever.  Sure you don’t wanna…”

“Don’t complete that thought, Vance.  Just don’t.”

“Your loss.  Moreau’s lonely.”

“Moreau’s a fucking lunatic.”

“Well, he’s the boss, now ain’t he?”

Vance turned back around, waving to the rest of the men to get back in their cars. Sophie’s hand squeezed even tighter around Nate’s, now hurting a bit as she did.  He could feel her shaking a little as the cars turned and made their way back up the driveway and disappeared in a swirl of dust and debris.

“Fuckin’ A, Soph.”

“This is not good,” Hardison said as Sophie just stood in front of him.

“Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on?”

“We fucked, as in, not literally, but maybe you, but we fucked.”

Nate wanted to punch the man to just shut up.

“I need to talk to Nate, alone.”

“You sure?” Eliot asked.

“I mean, you could just, you know, not tell him,” Hardison suggested.

“Both of you. Find Parker. Make sure she’s safe.  I need time to talk to Nate, alone.”

“We gonna find her.”

“Alright. Anything you need?” Eliot pointed to Nate now, like he was on notice.

“Go away, Spencer,” Nate pushed back.

“Do not make me angry.”

“Get out of my face,” Nate yelled as Eliot came closer.

“Eliot, leave.”

That was the end of that once Sophie spoke up.  Both Eliot and Hardison grabbed a few things off the porch and left down the path to the pond.

“Where are they going?”

“Parker has a hidey hole somewhere down there. It’ll take them hours to find her, possibly the rest of the day.  Don’t worry.  I won’t hurt you.”

“You won’t hurt me?”

Nate was seething now, pushed around by Eliot, told that he was fucked by Hardison, a look of pity across Sophie’s face.  Yes, he was probably going to be some kind of sacrifice to this Moreau character. That had to be it.

“Inside, now,” Sophie ordered.

“I am not some boytoy like Eliot or Hardison. You will not order me around. Got it?”

His menacing look didn’t deter Sophie in the least. For the most part, it egged her on as her hand slapped him on the ass.

“Get inside.”

“You are not going to push me around.”

“If you want to live, you’ll listen to me,” her voice cracked at the word live. “Move.”

He moved. He didn’t like it that he did, but he followed her anyway. She slowly made her way upstairs to the bedroom, slamming the door once he was inside.

“Don’t order me…”

He didn’t get to finish the sentence before her lips were crashing down on his, biting, sucking until he couldn’t breathe any longer.

“Sophie, what the…”

Her hands roamed as she dove in again, tongue rough against his, like this was going to be the only opportunity for them to be close.  He’d felt it, that they were getting closer. Only he hadn’t wanted to push the matter, not with his injury.

Sophie’s eyes were crazed now, lust filled, like she wanted to devour him in one bite.  Popping the buttons of his shirt and pulling it apart, she bit down on his chest until he groaned.

“Geez, Sophie. Stop. Stop.”

Breathing heavily, she raised her head to look at him.  Pulling her into his arms, he held her steady until her eyes focused on him again.

“Slow down.  Why now?  Just let me know why?”

She lightly kissed where she had bitten him, soothing it with her tongue. He knew she could feel how turned on he was, her body tight against his.  His arms loosened around hers as she brought them up, stroking his arms, his neck, until she tugged at the back of his head and down his head went for another go round of heat generating kisses that he hoped wouldn’t stop soon.

She did slow down a bit though, not frantic with need as she was moments before.  Her skin was like silk as he traced his fingers down her neck and to her collarbone.

“I want you,” she groaned out as his lips found that perfect spot on her neck that he had been staring at for weeks on end.

“Soph, if this is the last time.”

“No, no.  Not the last time.  Not the last time.”

Her hands worked inside his shirt, hot against his back as her lips pulled him to her again.  He heard her gasp as his rough beard scraped down her neck to her cleavage.

“You’ll have to get rid of it. The beard.  Not allowed,” she sighed out as his mouth worked lower.

His mind couldn’t focus on what she was saying. Now wasn’t the time to focus on that. He wanted to focus on her body, how it felt, how he was going to make her feel. 

“Have to feed you more. Fill out more. Damien won’t like that you’re so skinny.  More muscle.”

“Sophie?” he whispered.

“Nate.  You have to listen.”

“Right now?”

His hands itched to touch her everywhere.

“Take my clothes off,” she demanded.  “Just listen. Listen and feel.  You’ll need it later.  Please,” she begged.

Since he did want her clothes off sooner than later, he obliged, stripping the top over her head, along with the sweater she had on.  Her skin was cool to the touch, shivering as his tongue traced her bra.

“That too,” she managed to get out.

Unhooking it, it fell with the rest of the clothes.

“Pants.”

“Eager?”

“Just do it,” she demanded.

Pushing them down over her hips, he felt the scars before seeing them. Her lower back had many that crisscrossed, like she had been thrashed with some kind of leather.  The tops of her thighs had the same kind of marks, meant for torture, punishment.

“Nate,” she stuttered out. “Don’t stop.”

“Someone hurt you.”

“I’m not hurt anymore. It was a long time ago.  Please don’t stop,” she cried out.

“No. Never.”


	5. Sophie's a What?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate finds out what Sophie wants out of him. He could end up dead. **explicit content in this chapter**

Chapter Five--Sophie's a What?

Someone had marred her beautiful skin to make a point or a lesson out of her.  He’d not look at her like that.  She was beautiful no matter what scars she had.

“So beautiful,” he whispered in her ear. “So soft.”

Those sweet, delicate hands that dug in the dirt pulled on his curls that now were starting to grow back, that nursed him back to health, plunged into the front of his pants and pulled, hard.

“Too hard,” he groaned out.

“You need to learn. You’ll like it. You’ll see.”

Like it? He almost went off when she did that. Turning her abruptly, he tossed her on the bed, leaning over as she squealed in delight.

“There. That’s it.  More of that.”

She couldn’t stop telling him what to do, like she was rehearsing a play.  The pain in his head slammed into him, bringing down to lean on the bed.

“Nate?”

“Ok,” he gathered himself.  “Just the side is hurting from that toss,” he lied.

He crawled on the bed after her, watched as she spread her legs wide for him to lie between them.

“I want more,” she sighed as his hand worked down her body.

“Not going to last very long.”

“You can. You will. I’ll teach you.”

“Not happening,” he got out before his fingers found her slick and ready.

“Now, then. Now.”

He’d have to show her that she wasn’t always the leader in these things.  She was so wet, so tight, a little too tight, so he slowed his actions, giving her time to adjust to him.  No way was she a virgin, no way. 

“Slow down, sweetheart. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Sophie’s hips moved up and down, like she wanted it to go faster. Pinning her to the bed, his head moved down to her breasts, lips closing over one nipple.  She arched off the bed, moaning loud as she did. His hand found the other one, slowly making circles around the nipple before touching it. Her hips kept trying to move under him.  He just had to slow her down. While he worked on the top part of her, the other hand slid through her wetness, thrusting a finger inside.

“Nate,” Sophie screamed as she tightened around the finger.

He added another before she came down, drawing it out until she was almost limp underneath him.

“Now,” she whimpered. “Now.”

She was even slicker than she was before, easing him inside of her much easier than before. 

“So good,” he whispered in her ear.

“Fuck me,” she growled back in his ear, legs now crossing over his back.

As he slowly thrusted in and out, Sophie tried to speed up the pace, uncrossing her legs to get more leverage.

“Harder,” she demanded. “Now. Harder.”

He started to move faster and she met him with every thrust, every movement.  It seemed like it had been forever since he was with a woman. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been to bed with one. It was like this was the first time. 

“Come now, Nate. Come now.”

They were going to have to talk about how demanding she was of him.  Not like he didn’t want to come because that just spurred him on, thrusting a few more times until he couldn’t anymore, hips now pistoning, coming hard and intense. He must have heard her scream his name because his ears were ringing afterward, as he came down from pounding into her.

“That was perfect. Perfect,” she purred to him as her arms dropped to her sides.

“Sophie, I kind of felt like that was an audition of sorts.”

The look of sorrow on her face was evident. She couldn’t hide her feelings this time. She was too vulnerable, too open at the moment to hide it.

“It was.”

“It was?”

Anger was bubbling up inside of him.  She was using him, for something that he knew he was not going to like one bit.

“I have to explain.”

He pulled out of her, watching as his seed dripped out of her, realizing they had used nothing to protect her.

“Nate, I can’t get pregnant. It’s ok.  Don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry?  You used me.”

“I used you,” she cried, turning over to hide her face.

“Why?”

“Because if you don’t do exactly what I say, we could be killed.”

“How?”

“Maybe not right away.  I have to protect them.”

“Eliot, Hardison?”

“Especially Parker. If he finds her again…”

“Who? Just tell me what’s going on?”

She turned so that she wouldn’t face him, wouldn’t look him in the eye.

“I can’t let him hurt her again. Moreau.”

“Did he?”

“She won’t tell. I think he did. Or tried to? And Eliot?  I know what he did to Eliot.  Hardison has been spared, for now.”

“Why hasn’t someone stopped this Moreau guy?”

“We’ve tried before.” Nate glanced at Sophie’s scars, all over her back, her legs.

“And suffered the consequences,” he swallowed his disgust.

“Nate, he cannot kill us outright, for now. He just can’t. But what he can do is make our lives a living hell.”

“Why can’t he kill you?”

“Because if he does, he will never live to see another day.”

His head hurt with all this new information.

“He’s the magistrate, right?”

“Correct. But Nate, there’s one piece of the puzzle that you do not have.”

“I’m all ears.”

“He may govern, take all the bounty that he wishes, all the riches that this land has to offer. But there’s one thing that he’s not?”

Oh god, what was she going to say?  He had no idea at this point. Everything in this land, wherever he had drifted to was so screwed up, messed up.

“He’s not the queen.”

Ok, now that was not what he was expecting.

“Huh?”

“If he kills me, the people could rise up. He knows this. He keeps me alive because of this.”

“You’re a queen.”

“Yep.”

“And that makes me?”

“If you’ll play the part, my consort.”

“Oh.  What?”

“Yes. I need you.”

“To play a part?”

“Partly. To play a part and to possibly become the consort of the queen.”

“That means I’d have to marry you.”

“Yes.”

“What are you not telling me?”

“For me to regain the throne from Moreau, I have to marry. There are certain traditions that I must follow.  So many rules. I won’t bore you with those.”

Nate covered himself with the sheet now, getting cold.

“No, bore me.”

“I cannot marry certain classes, so Hardison is out. Eliot won’t work because of certain things that have happened.  I’ve tried to find someone else to play the part.”

“The obvious reference to the last guy.”

“You’re an outsider.  This will work. We need to bring Moreau down before he destroys everything. Do you understand?”

“Why me?”

“Well, he cannot be younger than me.”

“I fit that bill.”

“He cannot hold any other title.”

“How do you know I don’t?”

“I checked.”

Nate sighed. Probably why Eliot had disappeared for so long.  It wasn’t just to hunt.

“Any other criteria?”

“Possibly?”  Nate closed in on her, even though she was naked and oh so touchable.  “That.”

“What?”

“You like to touch me?”

“What?  What we just did?”

“Part of the ceremony.”

“You mean, we have to…”

“Have sex, many times in as many positions as possible. Something about producing an heir but as I’ve told you, it’s not possible.”

His head was now really spinning.  They wanted him to prostitute himself to Sophie so that she could regain her kingdom.  Or as in her case, her queendom. 

“How do you know it’s not possible?”

“Because it hasn’t happened. I’m not a virgin, haven’t been for some time.  And I’ve not used any kind of protection for a long time.”

Nate narrowed his eyes at her.

“I just need you for two nights. That’s all.”

“Ok, two nights. Then what?”

“You can go on your merry way. Or stay. Whatever your choice is.”

“Merry way?  I’ll be married to you.”

“There is that.  We can live apart if you like. It happens all the time.”

He looked down at her breasts, saw the curve of her hip as she lay there not looking into his eyes.  There’s gotta be a catch, he thought. There was always a catch.

“Ok, what’s the catch?”

“Well.”

“Well?”

“Moreau has certain rights also.”

“Certain rights?”

She was digging herself deeper and deeper into a hole in his mind.

“He can watch, to make sure everything is going well.”

“Watch?” Nate shrieked.

“Apparently he’s decided that is his right.  He tried it before.”

“You were married before?”

He was doomed, entirely doomed.  She had pulled him in with her siren’s song and doomed him for all eternity.

“I tried to get married.  He couldn’t last the two nights.”

“Ok, so you fucked some other guy, he couldn’t keep it up, so you dumped him?”

“No, he actually died.”

“Actually died as in died while fuck…” Nate stuck on the last word, using it as a swear instead.

“Moreau picked the guy.  Just used me to get back at Eliot.  The poor soul did not know what he was getting into.  I hated every single minute of it. He up and dies on me. Me.  Has a heart attack right there, after I dropped my clothes. Embarrassing.”

“How old was he?”

“A lot older than you, I’d say.  Probably pushing seventy.  Moreau did it on purpose to embarrass me.”

“So I marry you, screw your brains out for two days, then you get the crown back. I’m free.”

“For the most part.”

“Oh jesus, there’s another catch.”

“Moreau can watch?”

“If you say he can participate, I may have to strangle you.”

Sophie took his hands in hers.

“Oh god no. I’d never agree to that.  He does have the ability to tell me how many times.”

“How many times?  But, no. Sophie, no.  You are trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

“No, most definitely not.  It has to be reasonable.”

“You mean I have to have some sniveling asshole telling me how many times I can come in two days?”

“Pretty much.”

“You aren’t serious, are you?”

“Deadly.  If he doesn’t get his way, then he will destroy so many people. I don’t have any other choice. You are the best candidate.”

Nate flopped over on the bed and hid his face from her.

“What will happen if you don’t?”

“He’s been after Parker. He’ll take Parker to wife and take over the throne.”

“Again with a double huh.”

“She’s next in line.”

“She’s related to you?”

“It’s complicated.”

“I’m already seeing that.”

“Father had two daughters. One by one wife, me. One by another, Parker.  Son dies an early death. So here we are.  I’m screwed either way.”

“That’s saying it literally.”

“I like you, Nate.  I’ve gotten to know you over these past few months. You’re a good man. And have other attributes that I like.”

“That I won’t keel over and die at the sight of you?”

“Yes.  And you’re quite skillful.”

“Oh, and that’s another thing. This was an audition.  Literally an audition.”

Sophie scrunched her face up at him, like she really didn’t want to tell the truth. 

“Well, you see, I just, you’re just.  Yes. You passed, by the way.”

“I passed. Well, yippee fucking yay.”

“You take direction well.”  He grabbed her arms and pulled her tight against him.  “There’s that too.”

“What’s that?” he said as his tongue traced her ear.

“You seem to want to practice again.  Builds stamina.  Remember, he has to be reasonable.”

“How many times?”

“Could be as little as two or as many as ten.”

He dropped his head down onto her shoulder.

“I’m sure it won’t be ten.”

“I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Hence the teaching.”

“Not possible. I’m old.”

“We’ll see.”

“Dammit, Sophie. You might just kill me yet.”

“No promises.”

“No promises to kill me?”

Pushing him down on the bed, Sophie crouched over him, looking down at him.

“I don’t want Parker hurt. Please Nate.”

The tears in her eyes made him sigh.  She was right. Parker was too innocent. This Moreau character, the man that seemed to put Eliot into a rage, make Hardison cringe, have Sophie doing such outrageous things must be an ultimate bastard.

“If I don’t and he finds me?”

“He’ll kill you.  As I said, I can protect you.”

“Why would he kill me?”

“Maybe because you’ve already had sex with me.”

“It’s like a father with a shotgun.  You knew this would happen.”

“I did. I don’t know how many times I can apologize.”

Sophie’s way of apologizing wasn’t without its merits.  Taking her hand, she guided him inside her again, slowly lowering her body over his.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Nate said as he watched her face.

“I’m alright.”

She wasn’t alright.  He could tell.  She winced every time she pulled him out.

“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

She collapsed against his chest, still moving a bit. Nate took her face in his hands, making her look at him now. He hated to see the tears in her eyes, how sad she looked.

“I’ll help you, under one condition.”

“What might that be?”

“That I not hurt you.”

“But we have to…”

“Three months.  I think we can manage to do this for three months. You show me your tricks, I’ll show you mine.”

She laughed at his joke, still moving her hips as she did.

 


	6. Eliot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot's pissed at the whole situation. Parker tries to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **note: talk of past abuse**

Chapter Six--Eliot

Eliot was pissed.  Moreau had gotten the better of them this time. If he could go and kill him, to protect Parker and Sophie, he would.  Sophie ordered him not to and since he was under her protection, he knew he had to listen, at least for now. 

The new guy was a problem. Nate wouldn’t take orders from her, didn’t know the consequences if he didn’t.  He didn’t belong. Eliot did, as did Parker.  He also had Hardison to protect because he knew what Moreau would do to the man.  It had been done to him.  Eliot was damaged, probably beyond repair.  He’d do his job protecting Sophie. Once she was in power again, then he’d take his vengeance out on the magistrate.  No mercy this time, even with the connection to himself and Damien.  He knew that if he crossed Eliot there might be consequences.

As he weaved his way through the forest, he kept thinking that he might have to sacrifice himself for the cause.  It wasn’t what he wanted to do.  Parker would be devastated if he did.  She was so young when he’d joined the household, protecting her father and mother as best he could.  From day one, he knew that Moreau was dangerous and had told Sophie so.  The woman knew he was, but couldn’t cross her father.  Then her step-mother, Parker’s mother mysteriously passed away birthing her fourth child.  Then when Parker was fourteen, her father, the king, fell ill. Sophie tried everything, short of calling in a mage, to make him better.  It didn’t work.  As soon as her father died, Moreau moved in.  Sophie and Parker were lucky that they survived.  So was Eliot. Torture would have been better than what he had experienced.  Moreau knew what he was doing.  Break the one thing that kept him out of power, then the whole tower would fall.  Others had stepped in though, had saved him from Moreau just in time. 

He had to get to Vance and quick.  The man may not like him, but he was loyal to the crown.  He was just doing his job, some would say.  Eliot knew his motivations and would use those to make sure that in three months’ time, Sophie was safe enough.  Nate had to do the rest.  He’d have to rely on an unknown factor to protect his queen. 

The man would have to undergo training to be able to protect Sophie, that was sure.  He knew exactly what Sophie was thinking when they found him in that field, almost dead from malnutrition and injuries.  If it worked, then things would change.  If not, then they would know their standing.  Retreat at this point would be moot.  She’d thrown down the gauntlet to Moreau. It was his move now.  Eliot’s training and Hardison’s know how must work this time or they were all dead.

He could feel her following him, sense her presence probably even before she knew he did.  He always could feel her, even when she was young and carefree. Parker was a wild one from day one.  No one sat on her, made her do her lessons, made her be the lady of the court.  That had fallen on Sophie’s shoulders, who had taken on the job without complaint.  Parker, on the other hand, was crazy. Her mother had seemed this way also, flighty, prone to acts of anger at a moment’s notice, not like the sweet Parker.  While her mother was all darkness and sorrow, Parker was light and happy.  Nothing would take that away from her, until Moreau exerted his power.  It had taken away her innocence, made her sneaky, a shadow of her former self.

Standing in a small clearing, Eliot stopped and closed his eyes, hearing every twig snap, every bird singing, every sound the forest could make.  She’d be upon him silently, but he could still know where she was.  He was the only one who could do that, which was a good thing. Anyone else might attempt to kill her for just that act.

He stuck his arm out, thought he had her in his grasp.  His timing was just slightly off because he felt the breeze from her movement to his right.  With all that was going on, that didn’t surprise him.  He’d have to fix that just to make sure he was ready for the upcoming battle.  There would be one, whether Sophie believed it or not.

“Oh, little one. You’ve finally managed to surprise me.  Why do you vex me so?”

His twang in his voice disappeared as quickly as it came.  He did that just to throw off his opponents.  If they thought he was some good old boy without a brain, then he’d use that to his advantage.

As his hand snaked out, he found her, hand around her wrist, never tight because with the slightest pressure, he knew he could snap her wrist like a twig. He caught her though, just as he thought he could.

“Eliot. You’re getting sloppy.”

“Too many things to think about at the moment.”

As he opened his eyes, there she stood, in all her wild glory. Hair was platted up, dirty, matted in some places.  She looked like one of those warrior women of the stories his mother had told him when he was small. Only she wasn’t some Amazonian warrior, but just a slip of a girl, no, woman he needed to remind himself.  She hid her curves well with the clothes she wore. They were there. He’d seen them on occasion, when she’d finally bathe in the stream not too far from where they were right now.

“A challenge then?”

“Not in the mood, Parker.”

“It’s Nate, isn’t it?  Do you think he’s worthy?”

“Do I think he’s worthy?” Eliot shot back.  “What do you know?”

“I know that he’s come to care for Sophie.”

“Yeah, well, once she tells him what he must do, I’m not so sure he’ll stick around.”

“He’ll die if he doesn’t.”

“Doesn’t mean the man won’t run.”

“Then we’ll make sure he doesn’t.”

Eliot hadn’t let go of Parker, just to make sure she didn’t bolt.

“Vance was very specific.”

“I know. I saw the envelope.”

Eliot let the wrist go, anger flowing through his body.

“Dammit, Parker.  You were not supposed to be anywhere near. You know that.”

“I was safe.  He wasn’t going to find me.”

“And what if he did?  He’d have to take you to Moreau.”

“Please don’t be mad at me,” she cried out.  “I’ll be good next time.  I’ll do better.”

Eliot took a couple of deep breaths, knowing that Parker was sorry for what she did.  He certainly didn’t believe her when she said she wouldn’t do it again though.

“I cannot abide by Moreau hurting you.”

“Just like he hurt you?”

It was a question and a statement all in one.  She knew that Moreau had somehow hurt him, but not the specifics.  He’d never told anyone else other than Sophie what Moreau had done to him.

“No, little one.  I will never let him hurt you the way he hurt me.”

“I’m not little. Why doesn’t anyone understand? I’m a woman and can fight my own battles.”

He didn’t want to argue with her any more.  It hurt his heart to see her upset.  She was right though. At some point and time, Sophie was going to have to start treating her like a woman instead of some creature that needed to be protected from the world at large.  He knew she could fight because he’d taught her secretly, just in case he wasn’t around to defend her. 

“And if Damien Moreau ever touched me, I would kill him. You know that. I might as well do it too for what he did to you.”

Eliot rounded on her, getting close to her face, if just to put a little menace behind his voice.

“You do not approach him, ever.  I fight my own battles.”

Her hand to his cheek though stopped him short.  Why did she do that, make him angry and turned on all in one short instant?  Instead of letting it go on, because he knew it couldn’t come to anything, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward.

“Come on, you need a bath.”

“Bath. I took one last week.”

“Bath. Stream. Now.”

“I hate you, Eliot.”

“I hate you too, Parker. Now march.”

“Asshole.”

“Bitch.”

“Alright.  Just let go.”

He started to but then realized that if he did, he’d never catch her again for days.

“Nope.”

When they arrived at the stream and pond that Parker often spent time at, he immediately threw her in, clothes and all.

“Was that necessary?” she sputtered as she came up for air.

“Clothes needed cleaning too.  I’ll get you your soap. Don’t get out.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, but started to strip her wet clothes off.  He truly did not want to watch her bathe, which would make him even more bothered, but he had to make sure to protect her.

She was down to her underwear by the time he’d found the soap she kept nearby.  Throwing it to her, she caught it with ease, tossing her undergarments at the same time back in his direction.  He turned quickly after catching them.

“You should come in with me.  The water’s really, really cold.”

“That’s why I’m not coming in.  If you’d actually take a bath at the house, we wouldn’t have to go through this.”

“Tiny tub.”

“It’s not that tiny.”

“Oh yes it is. I like my room.”

She’d only done this once before, a few years prior, when she was feisty with him one summer’s night.  He should have heard her coming, but was too in his head again to realize that she was directly behind him, no clothes.  He was under water before he could move away.

“Gotcha.”

“Parker,” he growled back.

She stood in front of him, half out of the water, gloriously pale body for him to see.  Was she that innocent that she didn’t realize what she did to him?

“Eliot.  Catch me if you can.”

He didn’t want to play this game. His boots were waterlogged, his jacket heavy against him.  His hair, that had been tied back, dripped down in front of him, tie gone from his dunk in the cold water.

“Get clean, dammit.”

Parker proceeded to do that, soap found floating off in the distance.  Her blonde hair reappeared, not dark and dirty for once.  Once she was clean, she stalked toward him as he climbed out on the other side to pull his boots off.

“Parker, it’s freezing out here. Now I gotta walk back with wet boots.”

“No, you don’t.  Come on.”

She still walked around totally naked, not worrying about the cold. She grabbed her wet clothes and motioned him forward. For some reason, this time, he followed her without question.  She was so secretive sometimes. He didn’t even know where she slept, only Sophie did.

Not far away, she turned in the forest, body in contrast to the grey and green.  As she ducked beside a rock, he found that she had disappeared.  Her hand stuck out, almost like she was a part of the rock, but he knew there must be some kind of entrance. Caves. There had to be caves that he never knew about.

Entering, he ducked his head too, knowing that he wouldn’t fit unless he did.  What he found though startled him.  It was homey and dry and somewhat warm.  She’d made a home in the rocks, shielded from the outside world.

“How did you find this place?”

“Sophie knew about it, had come here when she was young.  It’s our hiding place if Moreau comes.  Now it’s my home.”

She was wrapped up in a soft blanket, trying to start a fire again.  It took not long after that. He watched as she tended the fire until it was big enough to start to warm the place.

“Here,” she said as she threw him a towel.  “Strip.”

“In front of you?”

“I did in front of you.”

“Fair enough.”

Eliot used to not be shy around women.  He’d bedded enough in his younger days to not be shy. It had been years since anyone had seen him. He even wouldn’t let Sophie tend his injuries after what Moreau had done to him.  He couldn’t take the pain of what they would see, see the pity in their eyes.  Did he think she’d be any different?

“I know he hurt you, Eliot, just like he hurt Sophie.”

“It’s not just the marks, Parker.”

“She took all the licks for me. You know that. He thrashed her until she couldn’t stand for weeks.”

“I know, Parker.”

He was in the dungeon, imprisoned by the man, tortured within an inch of his life for trying to protect her and Sophie from his punishment.

“I know that he did some really mean things to you, things you don’t want to talk about, ever.”

“Parker, you don’t…” he begged her to stop.

“I know. I wasn’t there, but I know.  If you’re going to take him on this time, you have to let go of it.  If he sees you as weak, he will take advantage of it.”

“He’s not going to take advantage of anything.”

“He will.  Don’t think I don’t know he will.  Every single time you look at him, he will know you remember, remember what he did to you.”

Dammit. She knew way too much for someone who wasn’t there. 

“You’re too smart for your own good.”

“That’s why you like me so much.”

He did indeed like her very much, but knew he couldn’t do anything about it. As he slipped his boots off, he noticed that she had gotten closer to him, blanket now down around her shoulders. She was just as tempting with the blanket covering her as she was naked in that pond.

“Take your clothes off,” she ordered him to do.

“Parker.  Just no. It’s not…”

“It is.  You need to get warm. Take them off.”

All the wet clothes ended up on the rocks behind him, lying out to dry. He’d need them later since he was certain she had nothing he could wear.

“Satisfied?” he told her.

“Boxers.”

“I am not stripping down all the way.”

She shook her head yes.

“Give me a blanket.”

She shook her head no.

“Dammit, woman,” he groaned as he grabbed at the one she had over her body.

“Mine,” she smiled his way.

“Then find me one.”

“Make me.”

The glint in her eyes told him enough. She was playing with him, attempting to get him to chase her around the room until he caught her.  She was fast. He was faster.

She ducked out of the way of his hands as he took a swipe in her direction.  It wasn’t until she made it half way across the room that he had her, pulling her up against him, laughing as he did.

“Incorrigible,” he grinned her way.

What he hadn’t counted on was her bringing him to the ground, blanket now half off her, her nakedness now against him.

“Parker, no.”

“Eliot, yes.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“What makes you think you’ll hurt me?”

The heat of her warmed his cooling body. She didn’t know what she was doing, to his mind and body.  He was almost certain that she’d never been with another man. Moreau, on the other hand, had told him while he was torturing him that he’d ravished her. How could he do anything to her after what the man had done to her all those years ago?

“I won’t hurt you, like he did.”

She stopped short and looked down at him.

“Eliot.  He didn’t touch me.  I stopped him.”

Must have been why Damien had blood all over his face. He thought that she had just fought the man before anything had happened.

“All these years, you thought he touched me?  Why didn’t you ask?”

“Because he told me he did.  Then he proceeded to…” Eliot couldn’t finish.

“Oh, Eliot,” she cried as she put her head on his chest and held him. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry for me.”

“You can’t let him have that hold over you anymore.  Be happy with me.”

She wanted him to be happy. He didn’t think it could happen.

“We need to make happy memories for you.”

Hers was more of a child-like view of the world, but he couldn’t refute what she was saying.  She could never erase what Moreau had done to him.  No one could.

“But Parker, that means you’ve never…”

She shook her head no.  “Not like I had the chance.”

“I can’t, I don’t want…”

“Then don’t hurt me.  I don’t want to go into this battle without you by my side.”

She thought she was going into battle too? Where’d she get that idea?

“You’re not going anywhere.”

“Oh, you think so?”

“I know so.”

“Wanna bet?”  Now she was trying to get his mind on other things. “I wanna touch you. And I want you to touch me.”

She slid her hand down his body, palming him through his boxers.

“That’s touching,” he told her.  It had been too long since anyone had done that.

“Now you have to touch me.”

And he touched her, everywhere, made her sigh and even shriek once.  Her body was so soft and inviting, her hands a quick study, her lips all over him once he let her in.

“On top, Parker. It’ll be easier.  Just go slow.”

Not that he wanted to go slow because he would have loved to slide into her and make her come for him as many times as she could.

He could see her pleasure on her face as she sunk down over him, watched as it pinched up, her biting her lip, the groan once she was all the way down.

“If it hurts, then take your time.”

She never listens to him, he thought.  Always doing what she wanted when she wanted.  She started off slow, hips moving slowly up and down until she found a rhythm.

“That’s my girl,” he told her, making her smile down at him.

It didn’t take her much longer to tighten around him, squeezing him until he thought he saw stars, making him finish right along with her. Parker collapsed on top of him, taking his breath away, not because she was heavy but because she was his now.  Moreau couldn’t have her. No one could.  He’d fight to the death to make sure she was safe, from them all.


	7. Sophie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sophie plans in her head.

Chapter Seven--Sophie

“You may have to explain it all to me again, in color.  I’m just not believing what you’re up against.”

Nate didn’t understand what she was up against?  Sophie certainly understood that if there was one wrong misstep, then it could be her head, along with her court, which did include him now.  She’d not risk it if it wasn’t the only choice she had.  She needed to regain control, now more than ever.  Everyone was suffering under Moreau’s heavy hand. She’d seen it with her own two eyes.  Her time of hiding had to come to an end.

“I have to stop him,” she demanded as she stood over the sink cleaning the last of the fruit she had.

Their stores were getting lower and lower every day. Sure, Eliot could hunt all he wanted and trade for other goods. Until Moreau was out of power though, goods would be scarce, no one could communicate efficiently and no one would ever be able to move forward with progress. They needed him gone, yesterday.  He was slowly killing her people, one body at a time.

She’d thrown on her dressing gown, the one that she didn’t often wear because her routine was get up out of bed, do her chores, eat, sleep, and do it all over again the next day.  Having Nate around was ruining that routine. She’d have to get into a new routine, one of teaching him what he needed to know so he’d survive the coming months, even if some of what he’d learn would benefit her greatly.

He stood beside her, helping out when needed. The sky was getting dark outside, so the kitchen was in shadow now, with only a small light over the sink lit.  Eliot hadn’t come back from finding Parker and Hardison had bunked down in his bed, sound asleep from what she could tell.

The presence of Nate calmed her.  She couldn’t believe that it would happen, but it did.  He was a strong presence in his own right, but next to her, it was like heaven.  How had she lucked out?  That malnourished man they found in the field was now standing next to her, possibly helping her plan the downfall of the ruler of a kingdom. 

She and Eliot could plan all they wanted.  This man would help those plans come to fruition. 

“I understand that.  I also understand that he will try to kill you, no?”

“Only under certain circumstances can he.  He’s got no good will from the citizens of the kingdom.  He’s totally ruined his reputation. It won’t take much to push him over the edge.”

“And have him fighting back like a rabid dog when you do.”

“By then he’ll be on his way out.”

“I just hope what you’re saying is true.”

She handed him the last of the strawberries they had, knowing that was it for the year.  She was surprised that they’d lasted that long, but since they were stored in the cool basement, they were still ok to eat.

“It’s going to get cold, bitterly cold in the next few months.  The last of the strawberries.”

He took a bite, then offered up the rest to her.  Juice from them dripped down his fingers.  Taking his fingers in hers, she licked then sucked them in her mouth.

“Sophie.”

He stood behind her as she arched her neck his way, exposed.  Her bite of strawberry dribbled out of her mouth, inviting him to taste her as it happened. She sighed as his lips met hers, tongue tasting her as her head turned back to meet him.

His arm grabbed her around the middle, pulling her against him as he did.  Good, she thought.  He was keying to her, making sure that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.  If he knew what he had to do to satisfy every criteria, he may not have gone along with her plan. 

Reaching back, she felt his hardness, stroking him through his pants.

“Sophie, you’re sore.”

“I’m fine,” she told him, but she knew it might hurt, if just a little. Not that she was able to find a suitor way out here, someone to practice. She wouldn’t touch Eliot or Hardison, ever.

His hand came around, pushed through the folds of her gown, and gently touched her with one finger. If he did that every day, then she’d be fine, everything would go off without a hitch.  Moreau would never be able to deny what this was doing to her.  He’d never be able to prove she was just doing it to get back her crown.  By the groan that escaped her throat, she’d be able to prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that this man behind her was going to be her consort.  As he slid a finger inside her, she felt the soreness, but wished it away.  It would disappear in short order, especially if he kept doing what he was doing. The slicker she was, the easier it would be.

It didn’t take him long to get the hint, to push the gown aside, unzip his pants and slide into her. He was already learning what her body wanted and needed, so it wouldn’t take much to show him the rest.  If he was willing that is, she thought.  He’d be angry with her, not wanting to put on a show.  It wouldn’t be a show to him, and not to her now since he’d shown her he was capable of what he was doing right now.

Bending her over slightly, she gripped the counter as he thrust into her, fingers still working on her, making her dizzy with what he was doing.

He was perfect, she thought.  Smart, intelligent, which was different from being smart, good looking, and capable of things with his body she didn’t think possible.

She squeezed the edge of the counter with her hands tightly as she came for the third time that day, soreness put in the back of her mind. He finished with a flourish, groaning out her name as he did, kisses on her neck.  Indeed, he was perfect, in every way.  The cameras would love him.


	8. Nate's Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate finds out from Eliot and Hardison what might be expected of him. He's not happy.

Chapter Eight--Nate's Training

“So?”

Both Eliot and Hardison looked at him strangely. How had he become friends with two such odd men?  Was it looks of pity or envy? Possibly a little of both?

“So, she go over with you what’s required?”

“I’m not having this conversation with the two of you.”

Nate slammed his hand down on the counter. It had been a few days since Sophie had explained to him that he needed to perform a job for her.  That’s what it felt like, even though when she looked at him, he instantly wanted her.  Great job he’d been offered.

“There has to be a conversation had, Nate.  We have to protect her, and now apparently you.”

“I can protect myself.”

“No you can’t. Not when you have to, well, you know.”

“Dammit, Hardison.  If you can’t say it?”

He’d gotten used to hearing Eliot say that phrase, although it still sharpened something in his brain, like he should remember something but it would go away that quickly.

“Not saying it.”

“If you’re doing your job, screwing the queen,” Eliot said tightly, “then you’ll be vulnerable. That’s where we come in.”

“How so? Gonna critique my techniques too?”

“Geez, Nate.  It’s not that. We aren’t gonna do that.  Just get your head out of your ass.  Sophie is gonna be the most vulnerable.  Moreau is a sick-ass dude.”

Hardison was trying to be honest with him, he knew that.  It just scared him that if he was giving himself over to Sophie, then it could get her hurt or even killed.

“I need to teach you some moves.”

“Excuse me?”

“Not those kinds of moves.  Fighting.  Have you ever fought?”

Nate’s fist burned, like he was remembering throwing a punch.

“Yeah, I think I have.”

“Well, I’m gonna make sure you have.  We have three months to get you into shape. And it’s not gonna be easy since it looks like it might snow.”

“In shape?”

“Yeah, so you’ll look good for the cameras.”

Nate’s head swiveled around for that comment.  Cameras?  He thought it was only Moreau.  Was there something else that Sophie failed to mention?

Nate grimaced their way. He knew he could get more information out of them than Sophie. She was playing it too close to the vest at this point, making sure that he didn’t bolt.  She needed him, not the other way around.

“Alright, guys.  Let’s just go through every single thing I will need to know, from the top on down.”

“Gotta lose the beard,” Hardison reminded him.

“So I’ve heard. What else?”

“Gotta get you in shape.”

“For the cameras?”

“Yeah. People eat this shit up.”

People? Oh how he was going to slowly torture Sophie Devereaux that evening.  It seemed that they were going to make a pornographic movie and he didn’t even know.

“What else, gentlemen?”

“Just make sure you don’t keel over and die like the last one.  Man, did that not look good at all.”

“Next?”

“You gotta make it look good, like she’s the only thing in the world.  Moreau can’t have one reason to reject you.”

“Reject me? He has a say so in this?”

“Sort of,” Eliot told him.  “If it looks real, then he can’t say anything. If it’s fake, then it won’t go great for you.”

Looks real?  Of course it was going to be real.  Oh shit, he thought.  Cameras?

“I see you’ve finally caught up with the reality of this whole thing,” Hardison grinned.  “Not for the faint of heart.”

“Who would devise such an archaic ritual?”

“Hey, I got vids. Wanna watch?”

“Of past rituals?”

Eliot punched him on the shoulder.  “You gotta be careful with this stuff.  It’s illegal.”

“So is using the player. So what?”

So videos were illegal, especially if they were porn?

“How do you power it?”

“Solar. I figured out how to rig up a power source on the roof.  Helps with the lighting at night too, but I can charge this. Comes in handy sometimes.”

“Can we use this somehow?  Any ideas?”

“Now that you’re saying it, I can rig the camera feeds up, maybe have a warning for you if someone tries to hurt Sophie?”

“Figure it out. Any advantage.”

Hardison turned on the vid player, volume down low. The three stared as they watched what was in front of them.

“So, that’s what I have to do?”

“Maybe not like that,” Eliot interjected.

“She’s very flexible,” Hardison added.

“He’s not,” Nate grimaced.

“That had to hurt.”

“No close-ups I hope?”

“Unless the tech is updated, I don’t think so.”

He hoped that Hardison was correct.

“And who sees this?”

“Well, Moreau will first, then it’s distributed throughout the kingdom.”

That's what Nate thought. 

“Something about proving your virility. Queen’s gotta be able to supposedly rely on her consort to, you know…”

“Be at her beck and call, whenever, if you get what I mean,” Eliot finished.

“Why does everyone have to know this? This is private stuff.”

Eliot’s eyes widened as they kept watching.  Hardison put his hand over his mouth to not make a sound.

“I guess some idiot king decided that he would make sure that his queen could do all this stuff too.  Not being sexist here.  Whoever is ruling needs to pass this test.”

“Two days of this?”

“Yeah, two days. Cameras are stationery, so no camera people inside.  Sound too. Sorry, I didn’t tell you that.”

“So they can hear.”

What in hell had he gotten himself into?

“And if it doesn’t go as planned?”

“Oh, you dead. Sophie probably dead unless Moreau wants her, then she might want to be dead.  Parker enslaved, which would probably make her be dead.  We dead too.  So it will go as planned,” Hardison warned.

“I’ll do everything under my power to make sure he doesn’t interfere.  Moreau is not supposed to, but that doesn’t mean he won’t.  Remember, this is a performance, pure and simple. Acting, camera angles.  Sophie can show you what looks good.”

“Hence the getting me into shape.”

“Besides, we wanna show Moreau that you’re better than he is.”

“Better? How?”

“He’s vain as fuck. He’s not gonna like that some pretty boy is gonna fuck the girl he’s wanted.”

Eliot smacked Hardison on the shoulder.  “Could you be a little nicer about this?”

“Well, Moreau is vain. You know that.”

“And he’s dangerous.  You’re challenging him. Not just Sophie. You.  You have to look the part.  He’s a big guy, six five, muscles, smirk, he fits the part perfectly.”

Nate sighed, feeling his ribs still sticking out of his chest. He was too skinny, too run down, and definitely not that tall.

“Hey, that means you gotta play up your skills, your attributes.  Sophie can definitely help with that. She’s been training all her life for it.”

Now he was pissed. Someone trained Sophie to do this?  What else did he need to know?

“Training?”

“How to look good on a camera, how to handle yourself, you know, stuff like that. She’ll teach you.”

“Nate, you can do this.  You just have to focus on her. Just remember that,” Eliot told him.

“Alright, I’m turning this shit off. Got it, Nate? Now you know.”

Oh, now he knew exactly what Sophie had been avoiding. She was definitely going to hear his opinion on the matter.

 


	9. Nate's Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate talks to Sophie, trying to get her to really tell him the truth.

Chapter Nine--Nate's Practice

Late that afternoon, he asked her up to the bedroom, to talk and to hash this out with her. 

“We have a lot to do,” she said as she sat down on the bed.

“We do,” he agreed, slowly walking to the bed.

“Ok, I was thinking.”

“Oh, no, Sophie. Don’t think.”

His hand touched her thigh.

“Nate, we have a lot to do.”

“Oh, I think we need to practice.”

“Practice?  Oh, maybe not right now,” she said as he loomed over her.

“Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do? Practice?”

Instead of taking it slow, he pushed her down on the bed, wrenching up her top.

“Nate, maybe we should slow down a bit?”

“Not what you wanted before.”

Her bra was in the way, so he pushed it down until it exposed her to his mouth.  Sucking her in, he could feel her hand at the back of his head, making sure he didn’t move from his position.

“We need to make this look real. Is this real enough for you?”

The other side came down. His tongue flicked until the nipple pebbled. 

“Nate,” she groaned.

Maybe the lesson he wanted to teach her wasn’t working, because the more turned on she was, the more he was, losing himself in pleasing her, wanting her.  Her pants came off quickly, along with the underwear. She was twisting under him now, trying to take control. Isn’t that what she was supposed to do?  He wouldn’t let her, not this time.

As he worked his way down her body, she shivered every time he kissed her.

“Nate, you’re not supposed to do that,” she panted out.

Flicking his tongue out, he tasted her. It took all his strength to make sure she didn’t come off the bed.

“Nobody has ever done this to you, have they?”

“No. Keep doing it.”

Something new. They could use this, definitely use this.

As he moved his tongue up and down, she panted.  Once he thrust it inside, she came, intense and what seemed like for several minutes. He didn’t stop until she tugged on his hair.

“Stop. Just stop.”

“How was that? Did I pass the test?”

“What? What did you say?”

“You wanted a show?”

The look of distress that flashed across Sophie’s face made him realize that he had misjudged her.

“You think this is a game, Nate?” she yelled at him.

“Isn’t it?  To you?  You use me to get back that damn crown?”

She kicked him on the shoulder, but didn’t put much power behind it because she couldn’t get the leverage she wanted.  Pinning her down to the bed, he lay across the front of her, making her look him dead in the eyes.

“Get off me,” she told him, menace in her voice.

“You need to tell me the whole truth. Everything or the deal is off.”

“You bloody bastard.”

“I’m your bastard. Remember?”

“Don’t stoop to Moreau’s level.”

“Is this what you think I’m doing?”

“My life is not a game.”

“And neither is mine.  Realize that.  Make me understand.”

“I didn’t tell you everything. I’m sorry.”

“Full disclosure. Nothing held back.”

“Nothing.”

He could still see the anger on her face, like she would hit him if she got the chance. Before he moved, he kissed her, pushing her mouth open with his tongue, letting her taste herself. She relaxed just a bit as he deepened the kiss, tongues dueling for position. Maybe this was the way it would always be between them, he thought. Neither one wanted to give ground, both wanted to be in control always.  Would that work in the long run?

If she was honest with him and herself, he’d follow her lead on this. He had to get her to open up, make sure he knew everything that needed to be done. If she held anything back, it could backfire on them.

As he eased his weight off of her, so he could let her breathe since even with his weight, she probably couldn’t breathe all that well.

“I want you to want me, not the queen. That’s why I didn’t tell you. I’m not, I’m not perfect. When they see me…”

The tears in her eyes made him look like an ass for treating her so callously. 

“You are beautiful, you know that?  No matter what Moreau did to you, you are.”

“They won’t think so. No one will.”

“I do. That’s all that matters.  And if you are such a great actress, then show them you are the most beautiful in all the land.”

Sophie threw a grin his way, even with the tears still on her cheeks.

“No crying though.”

“Remember what you said about tricks?”

He could use this. She could learn everything he might know too. And if she didn’t even know about a man bringing her to completion with his mouth, what else did she not know? She had said she’d had sex with other partners.

“Now you’re going to do to me just what I did to you.”

“Oh?  Oh. I’ve never done that before.”

“We’ll take it slow.”

She most definitely was going to kill him before the three months were over. 

As she gently kissed down his body, he wondered what kind of education she had.

“Did you not learn this?” he managed to get out before her kisses turned lower.

“No.  It was positions. Nothing about this.”

It was like he was sixteen all over again. Except he couldn’t remember what he’d done at sixteen except for a flash of dark hair going down on him. It wasn’t her, he was sure.

Her tongue snaked out to taste him finally, almost making him arch off the bed. He didn’t want to scare her, so he tried to make sure he didn’t do anything that would.

“Do what comes naturally.”

He could barely talk much less instruct a grown woman about what to do to a man.

She kissed, licked, tasted. She had no idea what she did to him.  As she took the head into her mouth, he wanted to tell her more, but hesitated. Without instruction, she figured out part of it, taking him inside, making him groan.

“Like that,” she whispered.

“Oh, yes. More.”

She experimented with speed, moving her mouth up and down the shaft. There was no way he’d come into it this time. It would definitely scare her off. When he got close, he pulled her mouth off, finishing himself before she was surprised by what happened.

“Dammit, Nate. I wasn’t finished.”

“I didn’t want to scare you.”

“Takes more than something new to scare me off.”  He’d remember that later. “Let’s go again.”

“Not yet,” he got out before she decided to sink down on him.

Ten times, he chanted in his head. Ten times, on camera, for all the kingdom to see. He was never going to last with the way she just looked at him, like she had just discovered another way to drive him crazy.


	10. Parker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parker talks to Hardison and Eliot about Sophie.

Chapter Ten--Parker

“Geez, don’t they ever stop?” Parker sighed as she cleaned a dish in the sink.

She’d come up from her cave to eat.  She craved popcorn, hoping that Hardison had some put away for emergencies.  Now was an emergency in her book.  She didn’t know what to do about Eliot, or the other elephant in the room.

“Hey, mama.  What is up?”

Hardison strode into the room, probably looking for something.

“Popcorn. Where is it?”

“I think we have some left.”

“Better.”

Another moan was heard from the other side of the house.

“Do they have to be so noisy?”

“Well, if you got it, flaunt it.  Can I have some?”

“Some what?” she was scared to ask.

“Popcorn?”

“Maybe.”

Hardison crowded her against the cabinet, reaching up to get the popcorn on the top shelf.  Heat poured through her veins, feeling his body up against hers.  Just like had happened with Eliot.  This was so not good.

She set about fixing the popcorn on the stove as Hardison watched her.  Another moan, then a scream, probably Sophie by the sound of the voice from upstairs.

“Hope he’s not killing her,” Parker said.

“Oh, don’t think that’s what’s happening. You ok?  I mean, you seem out of sorts.”

“I’m worried, about Sophie. Not so worried about Nate because whatever happens to Sophie, happens to him.  I’m worried about Eliot.  He’s taking on too much.”

“Too much?”

“If this all goes to pot, then he’ll have to fight, probably Moreau.”

“Nate’s in the line of fire first.  We all know that.”

“But does Nate?”

She knew she was right.  Nate had the most to lose, including Sophie. It seemed to her that the man had become attached to her sister.  Parker didn’t know whether to like that or not.

“I’m not getting in the middle of that business.”

As she shook the pot, the kernels started to pop.  She hadn’t had any in months, but she needed a treat.  She was surprised that Hardison hadn’t stopped her since he was the one who had to count supplies.  Two months before everything might come to an end.  She guessed he was just going to let everyone do their own thing, then think about supplies after.

“Parker?”

“Yeah,” she replied.

“We, um, remember that if it all goes to shit, you can count on me.”

“I know I can.”

His large hand touched her shoulder lightly.

“Hardison?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s up?”

“I’m worried.  About you. What this means?”

“You mean that if Sophie loses, Moreau gets me?  I’ll kill myself first.”

“I’ll protect you.”

“You’ll be dead.”

“You don’t know that?”

Parker eyed him, knowing Moreau much better than he did.  “I do know that. Unless you have a plan.”

“I know places to hide.”

“So do I.  I’m not leaving Sophie to him.  Forget it.”

“She’s not gonna let that happen. Neither will Eliot.”

“Eliot can kiss my ass.”

His hand worked through her hair as she stood their munching popcorn.  It felt good, soothing what he was doing.

The spell was broken when Nate came into the kitchen, grabbing a glass and drinking down a full one in one gulp.

“Don’t ask,” he panted out.

“Nate,” came Sophie’s voice from upstairs.  “Hurry.”

“She’s gonna kill me. And I’m going to blame each one of you when it happens.”

“What? You’ll be dead,” Parker deadpanned.

“I’ll come back and haunt you.”

Parker stuck her tongue out at him.

After downing another glass of water, he quickly made his way out of the room and bounded up the stairs.  She heard a squeal and a door shut, followed by a thump.

“Just hope they don’t break the bed.”

“Practice, Hardison.”

He was still too close to her, still in her personal space.  It was only when Eliot walked into the kitchen that he backed off, very cool and nonthreatening.  She didn’t need or want the two of them to fight over her.  If they did, she’d kick both their butts and walk away. Men were too territorial for their own good, she thought. Thank goodness Eliot hadn’t been territorial with Sophie.  Sophie could kick his butt too.

“Noisy in here,” Eliot commented as he washed his hands at the sink.

“Too noisy. They’re going at it like bunnies,” Parker told him as he dried his hands.

Eliot and Hardison exchanged looks. That must mean something, she realized.

“It’s started. Let’s just hope.”

“Hey, it’s a new thing.  If it continues, then we’ll talk.”

“What?  Ok, I know that I don’t know everything about these rituals.  But come on, just tell me.”

“Parker, you don’t wanna know.”

“What?  You think you’ll mess up my innocence? Please. They’re screwing their brains out up there.”

“It’s, um, hard to describe.”

“Hard to describe? That’s pot calling the kettle,” Hardison shook his head at her.

“At certain times, certain things are triggered.”

“Geez, it’s almost like she’s in heat or something.”

Eliot grimaced, but Parker knew she hit the jackpot. Her eyes opened wide.

“I guess if you want to call it anything, that’s it.”

Parker thought in the back of her mind how that could happen.  And then she wondered if the same thing could happen to her?  Would she want it to happen to her?  By the looks both Hardison and Eliot were giving each other, would either one of them like it if it happened to her?

“Doesn’t happen very often.  I don’t think Sophie’s mother ever experienced it.”

“But why?  You have sex, it’s over. Why would you want to have sex that many times?”

If Eliot could blush, this would have been the time.  He just looked down, not wanting to answer the question.  Hardison opened his mouth, then closed it, almost like he wanted to answer, but by Eliot’s non response, he didn’t.

“She could be pregnant,” Eliot finally answered.

Popcorn went everywhere.

“Really?”

“Maybe.  Or another legend is she’s about to be.  Or she could just be horny.  Listen, Parker. Sophie is a lot older than you. The likelihood of her having a child at this point is very small.”

“Is that good or bad?  Having a kid?”

“Helps you, if that’s what you’re asking,” Hardison responded.

“Doesn’t make me next in line.  But puts Sophie in even more danger.  Fuck,” she cursed.

“Whatever happens, we just gotta make sure she survives until the ritual is over.  Once it is, then I can rest a little better.”

Eliot was right.  Everything hinged on Nate doing his duty and Sophie surviving. She’d do everything she could to see that happen. Sophie was her sister, the one that had taken care of her when her mother had died. She’d do anything to make sure she lived.

“I love you guys,” Parker blurted out, taking an arm from each man.

“We need to get crackin’.  Think Nate can take a break?”

“Think you want to survive interrupting them?” Hardison quipped.

“Maybe later.  She’s gotta get tired at some point today.”

“I count six.  Wanna bet?”

“Six,” Hardison held up two hands.

Eliot shook his head and turned to leave. Another scream came from upstairs.

“Seven.”

“Stop counting,” she could hear Eliot say from the porch where he headed.


	11. The Ritual

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sophie tells Nate why she wants him, all the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **even more explicit in this chapter**

Chapter Eleven--The Ritual

It took Nate five minutes to get a drink of water and use the bathroom. In that time, Sophie had taken to start pleasuring herself, one hand working down her body, the other pinching her nipple hard.

“You couldn’t wait?”

“Nate,” she whined.

He’d gone three times, she five he thought. He couldn’t tell on the last one because she kept shaking long after they’d finished. He was tired, dead tired and needed a break.

“Well, go on and finish.”

No way was he joining in on this.

“I’ll watch,” he grinned.

She was so slick still, fingers now coated.  Two fingers plunged inside, working in and out as she flung her head back, moaning in ecstasy.  She was the most sensual creature he had ever seen.  He felt a twinge, a stirring again, but knew it could be hours now before anything could happen with him.  She’d literally milked him dry.  He wondered how when she picked him it was a good idea.  A much younger man could handle what was going on with her.  And he knew that something was going on with her.  This didn’t seem to be normal in any way.  He couldn’t pull his eyes away though, as her fingers sped up.

The moan that escaped as she peaked was pure torture to him, knowing that he had nothing to do with it.  It was wonderful to watch as she pleasured herself, but he wanted to be a part of it. He needed to be a part of it. Another thing that he was worried about.  Whatever she had seemed to be catching.

“Done?” he chided.  “I was gone five minutes.”

“I couldn’t wait, darling.”

A flash of leg, high heels clicking on wood.  He shook it off to concentrate on her.

“Soph, six times?”

“I know.”

The bed was a mess, blankets off, sheets twisted, probably coated with whatever they’d been doing for the past three hours.

“We should take a break.  Recharge. You need to eat.”

“You need to come down here and kiss me,” she begged.

He did as he was ordered, dueling with her tongue immediately as he did. She truly did like to take charge of whatever they were doing. He’d have to pin her down on the bed to get her to stop.  He wrestled with her, making sure her hands did not travel down his body.  Her eyes were wide, pupils blown, like she was on some kind of drug.

“Did you take something, Soph?  Please tell me.”

She shook her head no, tears starting to form in her eyes.

“You have to be straight with me.”

“I didn’t think it could happen.  My mother, it never did.  I want you, Nate,” she moaned, writhing underneath him.

“What couldn’t happen?”

“The Macnas. Just let me touch you, please,” she begged.

“I have no idea what that means.”

“It means that I want you to have sex with me, as many times as possible.”

She struggled against him, attempting to flip him over so she could have her way with him.  Why hadn’t anyone told him this could happen?  Would it hurt Sophie if he didn’t do anything about it? Would it hurt him if he did?

“Explain,” he taunted her, moving his hips slightly to keep her mind occupied.

“It’s doesn’t happen very often.  I’ve never done it. Just let me go.”

“Not gonna until you calm down.”

“I will.  I promise.”

Her look of distress started to frighten him.  As he dug himself deeper and deeper into this ragtag family, he wondered if it would be better to just cut bait and run.  They could take care of themselves. It seemed that they’d been doing it for years.  Why did having him around matter? Couldn’t Eliot take care of this for her?

‘It’s you, Nate.  You triggered this. No one else.”

“Tell me what’s going to happen.”

“One more day. I’ll be past it.  It’s a good thing, I promise you.  Just let me go,” she cried.

“Am I hurting you?” he asked as he looked at her tears.

“A little.”

He let up on his hold, her hands going around him, fingers digging into his scalp.

“Don’t leave.”

That shot straight through his heart, making him ache.  She begged him not to leave.  It was like she was reading his mind.

“Not going anywhere,” he stated as he dropped his head back down on her chest, feeling her heart beat wildly.

“You’re not going to hurt me, Nate. Don’t worry.  I’ll be alright.”

“Tell me what to do.”

He’d given in, if just to see her through this whatever she was experiencing.

“It’s something my people experience. Some never do, some every month.  I’ve never, it’s never happened to me.”

Taking his hand, she pushed it down in between her legs, urging him to touch her again, just like she had a few minutes before.

“The urge, it’s overwhelming.”

He could see her flinch, like it had started to hurt, but she couldn’t stop what she was doing.

“Soph, after this, this is it.  You’re hurting.”

He gently circled her clit with his fingers, looking for any discomfort as she sighed in pleasure.  Taking her nipple into his mouth, he sucked until she started to squirm. Easing a finger inside, he could feel her tighten as he did.  The smile on her face told him that if he was gentle, then she’d be alright. Holding his head against her, she screamed his name as she came for the seventh time that day, shaking in his arms as she did.

“So perfect,” she said as she closed her eyes. “So perfect.”

So he was perfect about something.  He figured that whatever he’d done in his former life, he certainly didn’t deserve her.

She was asleep quickly. He was lucky this time. What would she be like once she woke up again?  He’d have to talk to Eliot, figure out how to keep her healthy and happy. They had two months to make sure everything was ready.  Two whole months.


	12. Let's Go Steal A Kingdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot tells Nate more of Sophie's backstory.

Chapter Twelve--Let's Go Steal A Kingdom

“She asleep?” Eliot asked.

“Finally,” Nate told him as he dropped down onto the threadbare sofa.  “I’m exhausted.”

“If you’d like for me to take over?”

Nate glared at him, looking more and more like the consort that he needed to be to make sure Sophie stayed alive.

“Not likely. Be straight with me. What in hell is going on with her?”

“Didn’t think it could happen with her.”

“Didn’t think what?  That she was in pain right before she went to sleep?  That with the wrong person, it might kill her?  You wanna fess up, or do I have to beat it out of you?”

He was becoming more possessive of her.  Eliot thought to tell him that was good, but he might get punched for it.

“It runs in families.  Her mother did not experience the Macnas.  Parker’s did, several times.  Each time, except for Parker, the baby died.  Sophie was conceived the regular way, and so was her brother.”

“So it’s a baby making ritual.”

“Not exactly.  Sure does make it easier though.  Parker’s mother was so desperate to give the king a son, some think she went through it on purpose, aided by some drug she found.  I dunno.”

Eliot was so tired, having not slept much the night before, worrying about Parker, worrying about Sophie and her status, worrying that they might all lose their lives.  He knew what he had to do.  It was just doing it that bothered him.

“Just please help me understand. If I go in there with half the story.”

“Moreau will take advantage of every single mistake.  If he knows she has gone through the Macnas, he will exploit that.  It could last months, or he could somehow trigger it again.”

Nate grabbed his head, like he was in pain.

“And you’re not doin’ so well, now are you.”

“I keep getting flashes of something.  Memories, I don’t know.  They’re painful sometimes.”

“Do you remember them?”

“Most of the time not.”

“Whatever is wrong with you, you gotta control it.”

“I know.  What do I do about Sophie?”

“Keep doing what you’re doing.  You probably only have one more day of it.”

“Tell me everything you know about Moreau.”

Eliot cringed, hoping they’d not have this conversation.  Could he leave the part about himself out of it?  Moreau was going to key in on Eliot the first chance he got.  Eliot would do his best to ignore it, but with Sophie’s life at stake and possibly Parker’s sanity, he’d have to be careful.  Being straight with Nate might be the least of his worries.

“He’s ruthless, intelligent, and knows how to make people do what he wants.  He won’t stop until he gets what he wants.  He’s angry that Sophie bested him.  She was supposed to be his bride.  Only his father wouldn’t let it happen.”

“His father?”

“Moreau’s father was Sophie’s father’s brother.  They’re cousins.  Her father did not want her to breed with the man, so he told him to take a hike.  Mixing the genes has become a problem.  He held out for someone else for Sophie, knowing that if they kept it all in the family, if you know what I mean, then there was a good chance that the children would be damaged.  Moreau doesn’t believe that.”

“You’re right. What about Parker?”

“Then he set his sights on Parker.  Same thing.  She’s too closely related. The man’s a fucking lunatic from inbreeding.  We have to keep them away from him.”

“Why is he the magistrate?”

“Because when Sophie’s father died, he was the only one in line to lead at the time. Sophie wasn’t married and was not of age.  She couldn’t rule until she turned twenty-five.  Moreau was.  Parker was little.  Sophie’s brother died under unusual circumstances.”

“You mean Moreau had him killed.”

“Possibly.  I could never prove it.”

“Once Moreau took power, Sophie went into exile?”

“Not right away. She did manage to carve out some kind of life for herself.  Partied a lot, got drunk, stole stuff. She was a piece of work.  Until Moreau decided to use Parker for his own. That’s when she stepped in. So here we are.”

“I assume it did not go well when she took Parker?”

“No.  It did not.”

“The scars you have?”

“Indeed.”

“If you don’t want to say anything, about what he did to you?”

Should Eliot tell Nate what a sadistic bastard Moreau was?  That Moreau had damaged him so much that he didn’t know whether he’d be able to come back and protect Sophie?

“He beat me, he tortured me, then he raped me.  Took everything from me.  My title, my job, everything.  Sophie figured out where I was.  She saved my life.  Now I owe her mine.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.  He will go down, one way or another.  It’s just a matter of when.”

“Long time to hold a grudge?  Revenge?”

“No, revenge would be too good for him.”

Nate backed up a little, seeing the rage on Eliot’s face.

“Then we do this together.  No more secrets, no more lies, no more omissions.”

“Nate, your job is going to be to protect Sophie.  The number one job.  If she survives, then he will have to abdicate.”

Nate got up to pace.  “Why do you keep saying if she survives? Can he try to kill her?”

“He can.  I think if I can convince Vance, then she’ll be safe during the ritual.  If he kills you though, and that’s a big if, then she is forfeit. He can do whatever he wants with her. And when I mean whatever, I mean whatever.  It would be a courtesy if he just beheads her and is done with it.”

Nate leaned against the fireplace mantel, head down. “How do we do this?”

“One, I teach you how to fight.  He can call you out. And he will. Two, get her pregnant.”

Nate’s head swiveled around to his, angry and a bit worried.

“Not like I haven’t been trying.”

“If she is, before she goes in there, then you have a better chance. Then I can work the rest.  Hardison can get the word out to the people.  We would just have to prove it.”

“Hardison said something about modern medicine. What do you have?”

“We’ll have to talk to him.  Figure that out.”

Eliot felt a tiny bit better, knowing that Nate would not abandon them.

“You have to be committed to Sophie one hundred percent.”

“I will. I can be.”

“She might go through the Macnas again if she’s gone through it once. Usually they keep going through it until pregnancy.”

“Why now? Why me?”

“Because she’s in love with you, you ass.”

Nate pointed to him, but couldn’t say anything, like he didn’t believe it.  At one point, Eliot had believed that Sophie loved him, just by the way she treated him.  It wasn’t to be.

“How? When? What the hell?” was all he managed to get out.

“I know she is.  I’ve seen it before. When she was very young.  He took her for a ride.  She was so in love with William.  Broke her heart in two.”

“You love her,” Nate surmised, coming closer to Eliot.

“Nate, I’ve loved her my whole life. She’s always been a part of me. I was so young when I joined the household.  She was thirteen, I was five.  I followed her around like a lovesick puppy. She treated me like a child, which I was.  I waited on her hand and foot, did everything she told me to do.  When I finally realized that I did love her, it was too late.  She’s always seen me as a brother, and I would not change that for the world.  I’m not sure what you did, old man, but there it is.”

“Is this going to be a problem?”

Eliot got up from the sofa, hoping that Nate would take a swing at him, if just to make him feel again.

“Not if you let it. I won’t be a problem.  I got bigger problems to deal with.”

“Like Parker.”

“Nate, don’t.  You don’t know.”

“I know she follows you around like a lovesick puppy. And by the looks of things, you’ve already done something about that.”

Oh, how Eliot wished he wouldn’t have antagonized him.  His private life was his private life.  What he did with Parker was none of his business.

“You talk about not jeopardizing Sophie. What’s going to happen if Moreau finds out you’ve already had Parker?”

Eliot’s punch took Nate down to the ground.

“You’re going to let him get to you.  He’ll get under your skin, Eliot. He’ll win because he’ll be able to maneuver you into something you can’t handle.”

Nate was right and had said all that he said to get a reaction.  Damn, the man was too smart for his own good.

“You do not react, you do not flinch when he says anything.  The less reaction, the better, Eliot.  Just trust me on this.”

“What about you? You think you’re gonna be able to go in there and not react?”

“That’s not my job.  It’s yours. My job is to be the rabid dog, protecting Sophie. He’ll expect me to react.”

Nate might have the makings of a plan, Eliot thought.

“He most definitely will call you out then.”

“I’m counting on it,” Nate laughed, like he relished trying to Moreau at his own game.  “And while I’m keeping him occupied, you can steal a kingdom back.”

“Gotta fill in the blanks on this, have everything planned to the T.”

“Let’s go steal a kingdom.”


	13. Sophie, My Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate shows Sophie how beautiful she really is.

Chapter Thirteen--Sophie, My Queen

Sophie smelled wonderful smells as she lay in bed. As they came closer and closer, she opened her eyes to Nate and a tray full of breakfast.  He’d made her breakfast in bed. After the way she’d treated him yesterday, she was certain he’d steer clear of her today, if just to recover.  She definitely didn’t want to have to chase him down later, but here he was, being sweet to her.

“Good morning, my queen.”

Sophie would have to tell him that he really didn’t need to call her that.  It made her uncomfortable to even have that title. She looked down and realized that she wasn’t wearing anything, probably had fallen asleep exhausted after all that she had experienced the day before.

“What time is it?  How long have I been asleep?”

“Maybe twelve, thirteen hours. You needed the rest.”

As she pulled the sheet up to rest over her breasts, he arranged the tray so she could eat.

“Oh dear. You made all this for me?”

“Since you didn’t eat much yesterday, I did.”

He grabbed a piece of meat off of it and stuck it in his mouth. “Not sure what this is but it tastes like bacon.”

“Deer probably.  Eliot has a way with these kinds of things.”

“He does, among other things he does.”

“Did he tell you?” Sophie asked as she took a bite of the egg that was on her plate. Must have been the last of them that he fixed for her.

“He did. I’m sure there are things he left out.  You’ll fill in the blanks eventually.”

“Nate, I never intended for this to happen.”

“I know.”

He looked shy now, like he didn’t want to look at her, didn’t want to see her emotions. She was sure now that she was an open book to him.  Schooling her emotions was her stock and trade and she’d have to get those under control once Moreau was there to see her.  It wouldn’t do her and him any good if he knew exactly what she was thinking. Getting it all out now was the best idea.  Dealing with things head on would fix this issue and she could go back and be what she had intended to be all her life:  the queen.

“How are you feeling?”

“Very hungry.”

As she sat and ate, she tried to figure out what she was going to do about Nate. On the one hand, he was now willing to sacrifice quite a lot, possibly his life, for her and her people.  On the other hand, there had to be some kind of agenda.  Why else would he still be sticking around?

It didn’t take her long to finish all that he brought, with his help that was.

“That was a lot of food.”

“I was ravenous.”

“Good choice of words.”

She took his hand in hers. “Did I hurt you?”

“Hurt me?  Sweetheart, that’s the question that I needed to ask you.”

He called her sweetheart. Was he one of those guys who called everyone sweetheart? Eliot sometimes used those kinds of names for her and for Parker.  No, he most certainly did not look like the kind of man that would use that word for just anyone.

“Just a little sore. I should get cleaned up. I have so many chores to complete that I didn’t get done yesterday. The place falls apart if I’m not on top of things.”

“Not the only thing you were on top of yesterday,” he mumbled.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.  Why don’t I run you a bath?”

“I’m not an invalid. I can take a bath by myself.”

He looked a little hurt by her insistence of taking care of her needs. She didn’t want to rely on him for anything, especially because she knew once this was all over, he’d be gone from her life for good.

As he took the tray away for her to get up, he pulled on the sheet a little bit, it dropping down on one side to reveal her nakedness. His sharp intake of breath told her that he still wanted her, even after what she’d done to him yesterday.  As she breathed deep, to take those feelings away, to steel her body from wanting him again, he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. 

“I’ll be in the bathroom, when you’re ready,” he whispered to her.

Damn him, did he know what that voice did to her? Probably so.  She’d not give into the urges that morning. She had too much to do and not enough time to do them.  Grabbing her dressing gown, she took her everyday clothes and marched into the bathroom, if just to tell him that she could run the bath herself.

He stood next to the tub, looking down at the running water, like he was in some trance state.  Oh dear, she thought.  It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. This wasn’t what her mother had told her would happen.  Had he caught what she had too? And was it possible?

Pushing the door closed, she dropped the dressing gown on the floor. He looked her way, then looked at the floor, like he wanted to look his fill, but not enough where he’d be tempted again.  Pinning her hair on top of her head, she stood next to him, willing him to look at her.  Maybe he thought she just wasn’t beautiful enough to spend time with her, just being with her.  He certainly liked to bed her, that she was sure.

The steam that rose out of the tub filled the room with warmth, where it had been cold in the bedroom.  Eliot must not have turned the heat on yet, probably to conserve what supplies they had left.  It had to rain or snow to be able to run the radiators.  She hoped that it would soon.  It was too dry outside for anything. She just wanted to be cocooned inside the house, to snuggle all day in bed, possibly with the man beside her. Reaching down, she turned the water off. She saw out of the corner of her eye that he had shut his eyes tight, like he was trying to will her away.

“Nate.  You can go now.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I, I don’t know.”

“Well, if you don’t know.”

“He told me, everything.”

“I wondered if he did.”

“Come. You’re shaking.”

She could see how his hands were shaking a little, like he was scared of something.

“I don’t want to leave.”

“Then I won’t let you.”

He sighed out his relief, like he was waiting for her to say those words.

“You’ll need to climb in first. I think we’ll fit, just barely.”

His eyes opened, wondering what she had planned.

“Go on.  Get to it.  The water will get cold.”

He stripped and did what she wanted. As he sank down in, she joined him, sitting between his legs, leaning back against his chest. He’d added something that smelled wonderful, possibly the lavender that she had stored under the sink. The water was almost up to the top with the two of them inside.

“Didn’t think we’d fit.”

They almost didn’t, with Nate’s legs pressed against her own, the feeling of him against her back, his hands sitting on the outside rim, resting, but clenching the sides hard. She could feel his breath right beside her ear, how he took deep breaths.

“Too much for you, darling?”

She could feel his intake of breath when she said that.

“Why do you call me that?”

“Darling? It just fits.”

“I like it.”

One of his hands landed on her knee that was sticking out of the water.

“Scar from falling one day. I was chasing Parker.  She was giving me the slip, as usual.  I must have missed a step because down I went.  Parker ran back, screaming that I’d been hurt.  She must have been four at the time.  Little scamp she was.”

“You raised her?”

“As much as I could raise her.  Her mother didn’t know how to control her and just let her run wild.  She was lucky to survive her childhood, always getting into trouble. When I had the time, I was there. She had tutors, but ignored them completely.”

“You obviously didn’t ignore your tutors.”

“No, until I realized that following the rules was not fun.  Then I tricked them into doing anything that I wanted.”

Nate chuckled behind her.

“It was quite easy, you see.  They never knew what hit them sometimes.”

“Just as much trouble as Parker, I see.”

“Even more.”

His hand made circles on her knee, traveling slowly down her thigh.

“Were you, trouble I mean? I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry, especially since you cannot remember.”

“I must have been.”

His hand squeezed her thigh tight.

“Are you alright?”

“It’s just when I attempt to remember, it sometimes hurts.”

“Then don’t, remember I mean.  I hate to see you in pain.”

“Not fun. This, now this is fun.”

His lips found her shoulder, placing light kisses, working up her neck and her ear, making her sigh with pleasure.

“Sophie, I don’t want to hurt you any further.”

So that’s why he was being extra careful with her that morning.  She didn’t want him to hurt her either. How could she explain that he wasn’t, that she’d stop him if he did?

“I’d stop you, you know, if you did.”

“We need a safe word, something you could say or do.”

“Doesn’t stop work?”

“Not this time it won’t.  Not sure I could even if you wanted me to. Something that we both knew.”

The circling of his hand on her lower thigh was making her a bit dizzy in the heat of the bath.

“How about lavender? It’s my favorite fragrance.”

“Any time you feel the need to use it, please,” he begged her.

“Don’t worry, Nate. I know you’ll never hurt me.”

His other hand drew her against him, tightening up across her stomach.

“Don’t say that.  I will, you know.”

“Never.”

Both of his hands came up, right under her breasts, like he was weighing them, contemplating on what he’d do next to them. It made her shiver in anticipation, this man, who had a wondrous mind, was very inventive and so careful with her.  As he squeezed and tugged them under the water, she sighed in gratitude that he was extra gentle. She’d had other lovers, other men that would take what they wanted and leave.  They certainly knew how to please a woman, but never took the time to actually get to know her body the way Nate was right then.  It was exactly what she’d need to get through all this, exactly what Moreau could not use against the two of them.  She’d trained for this since the day she turned seventeen.  Nothing would go wrong now. Now all she had to do was get ready.  And make sure that Nate was ready also.

The heat spiraled down her belly to her core as he worked his magic. If he kept up what he was doing, she’d come without being touched.  That must have been his plan because he kept up what he was doing. How could he have known what she liked in such a short time?  As her body flew up and over that crest again, she’d thank her lucky stars that someone was looking out for her, that he was the mate that she needed to get through this ordeal intact.

“Baths are supposed to be used to get clean,” he mentioned as she shook in his arms.

“Let some water out and I can.  I’m afraid if we try now, the floor would be drenched.”

He did as she told him to, washing her back, then her front, then her hair, dunking her to get all the soap out of it. She proceeded to do the same for him, but it was difficult to dunk him since she was in the way.  Standing up, she slipped out of the tub while he finished up.

She wrapped herself up in the only towel she had, realizing that there wasn’t another one for him.  Drying off quickly, she started to hand it to him, she drew her hand back to make sure he didn’t think she was offering him anything he didn’t want.  She felt that he possibly would think he was only there to please her, not to please himself too.

“Turn around,” he ordered her.

“I’ll have you know,” she began, but stopped when his arms turned her instead.

“You are quite bossy, my lady.”

The brush that was on the side of the dressing table started to drag through her hair.  It would take all day for her hair to dry since there was so much of it. He worked it through though, very patient with the tangles. Once he had enough of the tangles worked out, she took it into her own hands and pinned it on the top of her head again, willing to deal with it later.

As she looked back at him in the mirror, she was mesmerized by his eyes, taken in by how much he seemed to care for her. She’d never seen that shade of blue eyes on anyone before.  For someone who was older than she was, he certainly didn’t look it.  The one thing she had noticed that when he was worried, his forehead would crinkle up just so, like he was planning what he’d do next.  All the laugh lines and worry lines just made him more handsome. He wasn’t built like Hardison or Eliot or for god’s sake, Moreau, but there wasn’t anything she didn’t like about him.  He had scars, from gunshots was her guess, one to the abdomen, two to the shoulder, the one to the side which had healed nicely. Since he couldn’t remember, she may never get the stories on how he was shot in the first place.  He was finally starting to fill out from being so skinny that it scared her, building muscle working around the house, working with Eliot to become faster and stronger, which he would need when Moreau confronted him.

He was grey in spots, which meant in her mind that he was experienced. She possibly wouldn’t have liked him when he was younger, if just because she seemed to like much prettier men in her younger days.  He could have been striking, but she’d never know.  She most definitely would have to shave him, although he did keep it trimmed. For that she was grateful.  It would probably make him younger looking once it was gone, but she’d miss it all the same.

“Come.”

There he was, ordering her around again.

“You sure do like telling me what to do.”

“Get used to it.”

“Nate, you don’t have any clothes on.”

“And if someone is lurking out in the hall, then they deserve to see my ass.”

Sophie giggled at that, realizing that the other three would avoid her like the plague until she was back to normal. Pushing her out the door, they both were in her room in no time flat, with the door being shut as quickly as possible.

“There’s something I want to show you.”

“Oh, and what might that be?”

She’d forgotten about the old mirror on the back of her door, actually avoided it unless she had to style her hair and she couldn’t see.  She didn’t look in it often.  As he peeled the towel away from her body, he stood behind her so she could see herself. 

“You’re beautiful.”

“No, I’m not.”

She was proud of the fact that she was still in shape, could still work around the farm and the house as much as she could. But she most certainly was not beautiful anymore, if she ever was before.  Men had called her exotic a long time ago, had wanted to fuck her, use her body for their own means. No one had ever called her beautiful.  Sex was always the word they’d use.  Pretty enough to fuck, not pretty enough to marry.

“Not how I see you.”

“Your neck,” he said as he kissed it.

“Your shoulders,” he commented as his mouth moved down to taste.

“Your arms, so strong to hold up everything.”

Now he was going overboard.

“The strongest hands I’ve ever seen,” he said as he took them in his own.

“I can’t get enough of these,” he said as his hands roamed her breasts, causing them to peak.

Traveling down her stomach, he stopped there.

“So soft and kissable.”

She wondered what it would look like with a child growing inside of her but decided that it would never happen, so why wonder.

He bypassed her middle to drag down her hips and legs.

“Oh god, your legs,” he groaned into her ear.

His mouth kissed her back now.  She flinched as he did it.

“No matter what he did to you, you endured out of love, for Parker, for Eliot. Don’t ever forget that.  That makes you strong, stronger than he could ever possibly be. Don’t let him take that away from you.”

Tears formed in her eyes because he understood her, understood what she had sacrificed that day when she’d taken all the lashes meant for Parker, had freed Eliot soon after.

As he caressed her backside, she groaned in pleasure, at how gentle his hands were, how much pleasure they’d already given her, treating her like she was his. She could feel how hard he was, against her, making her float as his hands worked over her body. She was surprised she could still stand.

“Open your eyes, Sophie,” he demanded.

As she did, his fingers dipped between her legs, drawing moisture, showing her what he did to her, how wet he made her as his hands worked her into a frenzy.

It didn’t take her long to peak again, even after the bathtub.  She felt the heat building in her body, just as it did yesterday.  She hoped he could hold on for one more day, to endure what she did to his body as much as she did to her own.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

“I need you,” she whined as he withdrew his fingers.

As he bent her over, so she could see him in the mirror, she could see how much he needed her too.  He took his time, was so gentle with her when all she wanted was to finish and get on to the next time.  If he did this all day, then maybe they’d get to the finish line together and not resent each other that this had happened.

As he drew another orgasm from her body, he finally went over the edge too, groaning out his release right after hers. He held her up against his front so she wouldn’t slide down onto the floor.

“That was intense,” he panted.

“You’re mine,” she reminded him. “I need you and you’re mine.”

“Always,” he whispered in her hair.

It took her four more times before she drifted off to sleep, finally satiated, finally happy that it was over. It had to be over.  Her body had been used up, hung up to dry finally.  He slept like the dead beside her, probably used up also, having joined her through three of those, not having much energy left the last time, letting her do all the work. She still lay directly on top of him, not wanting to move out of his heat, even though he’d gone soft now, head turned as he slept. She buried her head into his neck, nuzzling it as she did. His arms automatically came up to hold her. It would all be alright, in the end. She knew it had to be. 


	14. Nate Learns to Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not like didn't know how to fight, but in this strange world, he needed all the advantage he could get.

Chapter Fourteen--Nate Learns to Fight

“Why are we doing this?” Nate asked Eliot.

“Because if you don’t learn how to do it, then Moreau will try to kill you.”

It was too cold to be outside, but it was the only place where they had enough room to move.  Eliot held a long stick in his hands, twirling it back and forth, knowing exactly what to do with it.  Nate knew it would hurt when it landed, probably on his body several times that day, just to show him he didn’t know jack about fighting.  Eliot loved to make a point with him when it came to fighting.  His face flashed before his eyes, face bloodied, screaming at him to get down. Shaking his head, he looked back to see Eliot staring at him.

“You with me?”

“Yeah, just, show me what you need me to learn.”

“This is gonna take some time.”

Eliot threw him another stick. He caught it before it fell to the ground.  It was lighter than he thought it could be.  As they went through the moves Eliot wanted to show him, he thought that it might be easier than he thought to use, but as with anything, doing it would be much, much harder.

“He’s been trained since he could walk.”

“So what chance do I have over him then?”

“He’s not going to expect you to know as much as you do.  You just have to hold your own.  There’s a time limit on how long he can fight you.”

“Just as long as I can last without him killing me, then I win?”

“No, you won’t win. But you won’t be dead. I’d say that’s a win.”

“It doesn’t matter if I win?”

“It does.  It’s just at this point, you won’t win. Believe me. You won’t.”

Nate sighed in frustration.

“What if I did want to win?”

Eliot had a look of contemplation on his face. “You want to win?”

“What choice do I have?”

Eliot muttered to himself, Nate hearing stupid and bastard tossed amongst the rant that Eliot was having with himself.

“I’m gonna have to hurt you.”

“Same here.”

He smiled back at Nate, starting to circle him as he did. “Go ahead, old man. Take your shots.”

Within twenty minutes, Nate had gotten in a few shots, but Eliot had landed many, many more.  The bruises wouldn’t appear for several hours, but he could feel them start to form.  It hurt more than he had anticipated.

“You both are idiots,” Sophie declared as she came out of the house.

“He started it,” Eliot almost whined back to her. “Watch your left.”

Nate finally put his hand up to tell Eliot that he needed a rest.  As he sat on the steps to the house, he watched as Sophie picked up the stick, looking it over as she did.

“Soph?” Eliot asked. “What are you doing?”

It didn’t take her long to sweep the stick out of his hands and have him on the ground, stick ready to take his head off if he moved an inch.

“Nate, it’s not about power.  Remember that,” she said as she let Eliot up and gave him back the stick she used.

“You let her,” Nate chided the younger man.

“No, I did not.  Damn, she’s dangerous.”

“The things you learn.”

“Do not, under any circumstances, let her fight.  If Moreau hits her in any way.”

“That why you didn’t fight back?”

“Oh, I fought back.  I just made sure that the hits were away from her middle.”

“Yeah, what hits you managed to get in.”

Eliot smiled at him. “I’m not the one walking funny this morning.”

Nate was a bit sore from their extracurricular activities. Sophie seemed to have calmed in the early morning, not wanting to strip him bare before breakfast.  She was settling now, he hoped. 

“She’s a handful.”

“Whatcha doin’?” Parker said as she stood right in between them.

Nate startled, but Eliot didn’t flinch.

“How do you do that?”

“Practice.  I’m quiet.  I want a stick.”

“And I told you that you couldn’t have one.”

“Are you the boss of me?”

“Yeah.”

“Bullshit.”

Nate definitely didn’t want to be in the middle of this argument.  As he made his way inside to rest and get warm again, Hardison came by him, handed him a really large book.

“Homework.  I expect you to read this and report back to me.”

“Why, may I ask?”

“Everything you need to know is in there. You wanna defeat Moreau at his own game, it’s probably in there somewhere.”

The book was huge, leather bound, tied together in the front by a string.  Papers stuck out here and there, like someone had started to take notes.

As Nate placed it on the table, he could see what Hardison meant.  It was a history of the kingdom.  There were rules, who could do what. He could work with this.  There had to be something, something he could use against Moreau to make him leave once and for all, leave Sophie alone forever.  He really didn’t want to fight the man, if by what Eliot had told him.

Three hours later, Nate had only gone through ten pages.  This was going to take all his effort from then until the two months were up.  Someone laid a plate at his hands at one point, food for him. He hadn’t even acknowledged who.  It was dark before his eyes could take no more. As he sat rubbing them, he saw Sophie enter from the kitchen, hair messy, a look of joy on her face.

“Nate, you must stop. It’s late.”

“Come here,” he told her, grabbing her hip as she did.

He sat in his chair and buried his face into her front as she stroked his hair.

“Find anything interesting?”

“Some.  What did you do all day?”

“Everything else that needs to be done around here, including all the laundry you seemed to have created in the last few days.”

“Right. Not like you didn’t contribute to that.”

“Never,” she kidded him.

She eased down on top of him, straddling the chair, eyes still on his.

“You think you’re a very smart man, don’t you?”

“Well, smart or not, if I don’t get through all this material, then I might miss something.”

“You won’t.  Too clever.”

Her fingers worked his brow, smoothing it. Working down his neck, she massaged his shoulders, making him sigh in relief.

“See? Strong fingers.”

Peeling her sweater away from her body, he buried his face in her cleavage, feeling the warmth as he did. She still smelled of lavender and possibly bread since she’d made some earlier in the day. He’d smelled it from where he sat still, all day long, reading page after page of information.

He’d get a handle on all this, figure out how to save Sophie. All the rituals meant something. He’d fix this so that Sophie wouldn’t have to deal with Moreau any longer.

“Nate, bed,” she whispered as she ground against him.

“I thought you were alright.”

“Doesn’t mean I don’t want you.”

He wanted to sit there, head buried against her chest, cocooned in the calm stillness of the night. It wouldn’t be still for very much longer.


	15. Hardison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hardison and Parker get closer.

Chapter Fifteen--Hardison

Alec Hardison always wanted things out of life, even when his nana said he should be grateful with what he had.  He wanted to not be of a lower class.  His non-existent parents saw to that happening by abandoning him.  He wanted an education, which he could not get because of his standing.  He got it anyway, just not conventionally.  He wanted a family to call his own.  He most certainly was able to achieve that, even if it was dysfunctional and kinda weird, but he liked them the way they were.  And he wanted the girl of his dreams. Only she belonged to someone else.  He couldn’t have made a move on her, knew that she had eyes for his best friend.  The confusion came when her eyes drifted to him.  

Parker was the most confusing, irrational human being he had ever known.  She didn’t want to live in a house, didn’t want to converse like normal humans, didn’t want to be a part of society.  She was Parker, saying the most outrageous things, doing the most outrageous things, not knowing they’d have consequences eventually.  He liked her just the way she was.

As she skipped around the yard, bugging him, he picked up his supplies that he used to fix the solar equipment. It had turned so cold outside, snow piling up, he needed to make sure everything still worked the way he wanted. They only had a few weeks left until they traveled to the palace, but he wanted to make sure everyone was comfortable until then.

“Don’t leave,” she told him as he put the last of his tools away.

“Listen, I’mma gonna go inside. It’s too cold out here. I’m freezing.”

“Alec.  You sound kinda down.”

He was.  He was worried that they’d all end up dead or worse, because yes, he could imagine worse.

“It’s nothin’.”

Taking his hand in hers, she squeezed it, smiling up at him.

“Hot chocolate?”

“If we have any left.  Not sure that we do.”

“I know where some is.”

He hurried to put away everything else, following her inside.  It was quiet, with Nate and Sophie napping or something else he did not want to know about.  Eliot was hunting, trying to find anything for them to eat. 

He stood to the side as Parker dug around in the cabinets that were becoming barer as the winter went on.  He knew she had a few things stored for emergencies, so if they had to raid that, they could.  Sophie had suggested soup so that it could last a few days.  There were still plenty of potatoes, so if Eliot actually caught some meat, then they could have that for a few days.  Only a few more weeks, he chanted. Then they’d know their fate.

“See. One packet. Share it with me?”

“Yeah. Go ahead.  Not like we have much else.”

“I can find food.  I think I saw some berries I think are edible.  And my extras.”

“You keep your extras until necessary.  It’s our emergency stash.”

“I know.”

As she heated up water, he stared at the back of her, her matted hair, her layers of clothing.  He never saw much of her shape, unless it was summer and she stripped to swim in the pond.  Then he’d see a bit of her.  She had to be beautiful underneath all those layers. He didn’t care if she was though.  Her face was all that mattered, how she smiled his way, the upturn of her mouth, the way her eyes twinkled when she was being mischievous. 

“Hey?” she lightly asked him, giving him a punch to the shoulder.

“Hey yourself.”

“Think Nate’s ready?” she dragged the conversation in a different direction than it could have headed.

“Gotta be.  We’ve been going over that book.  Moreau doesn’t really have a leg to stand on.  Once Sophie is there and the ritual is complete, he’s out.  I can’t find any loopholes at all.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.  What if something does happen to Sophie? What do we do?”

“Protect her as best we can.  And Nate. This is so messed up.”

“I’m afraid, for Eliot.  Moreau hurt him, bad.  I’m afraid Eliot’ll do something he regrets.”

“It’s a possibility.  I don’t know exactly what went down between Moreau and Eliot, but it was not good.  The man is a lunatic, but is calculating.”

“I’m going.”

He’d figured that she’d try to follow them into the city.

“Don’t, Parker.  It won’t work.”

“I can hide. You know that.  Moreau will never know.  What he doesn’t know is I know every hiding place in that palace.  I lived there all my life until he made us leave.  I hid in some places that even Sophie couldn’t find. I gotta be there for backup.”

Hardison shook his head no, back and forth to get his point across.

“And if he actually catches you?”

She pulled a wicked looking knife from inside her coat.

“You are not a murderer, Parker.”

“But I could be. I’m going to protect my family.”

“If that means killing Moreau, then don’t. They’ll kill you too.”

He tried to grab the knife, but she put it away, underneath all those layers she had on. Instead of backing away, of letting her have her space, he grabbed her face and kissed her, like he’d never be able to kiss her again.

He’d been in love with her since the day he met her at six years old, when she was twelve and running all over the palace like a mad girl.  Sophie was trying to catch her, to make her bathe and sit for her studies.  It didn’t work.  Only Alec had been able to find her that day.  He’d taken to playing with her, helping her with the math she wanted to study, even if she didn’t pick up any of her books or listen to her tutors. She was smart, so smart, he knew. No one else did, thought there was something wrong with her. Even Eliot thought it and voiced it occasionally.  He knew the true story, that she wanted to be different.

Once he grew taller than she was, she still treated him the same.  She’d slug his arm on occasion, race him everywhere, even when they’d moved out to the farm. He still attempted to get her to study, get her to learn what she needed to know. Sophie had quit making her learn the ways of being a part of the court. That Hardison understood her and her moods. She didn’t need to know those kinds of things anymore.  What he taught her was more valuable.  She knew at least as much or more about math and science, had read tons and probably could outdistance him at anything, save Eliot and his hitting.  He started to wonder if she could outdistance Nate now in running since the man had started doing it every day.  Nate was fast, faster than he thought a man his age could be.  Eliot told him to use every advantage. That was possibly one.  Was Parker the other advantage?

“I’m going,” she whispered into his neck.  “We’ll plan and make me a part of this. But I’m going.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” he told her as he tried not to cry.

He could taste the salt of her tears as she kissed him again, holding him tight as she did.  He knew this couldn’t last because he couldn’t be a part of her life like this.  He’d given up years ago on it. Eliot could, since he was part of the class she belonged.  He’d definitely rather see Eliot have her instead of some pompous ass that she might have to wed once this was all over, if they survived.

Parker kept kissing him, holding him, but he started to jerk away, wanting to make sure he knew his place in the world.

“Don’t leave me.”

“We can’t, Parker. You know that.”

“I don’t know that.  I can’t have Eliot.  I can’t have you. What else can I have?  I don’t do things the right way. Never have.”

“Just think.  If anyone ever found out?”

“Who would find out? You think that Sophie gives a damn about who I sleep with?  Look who she took to bed. We don’t even know where Nate’s from much less what class he’s from.  And Eliot?  He thinks he’s so damaged, he can’t even look at me now, after we…”

And that’s when it hit Hardison. Eliot had gotten there first.  He often wondered if she had taken anyone to bed with her.  They’d left the palace before she turned seventeen.  No one would dare touch her before then. Even when Moreau had tried, she told everyone that he had not succeeded.  She was pure in his eyes. 

“I understand.”

She looked at him with horror in her eyes.  “No, you don’t.”

“Eliot, he’s always cared for you.”

“And you love me.  I know you do.  He just, I can’t do this on my own.  I can’t make him love me on my own.  I want someone to love me for me.  I’m not sure if he’s capable.  Just, don’t leave me alone.”

She was right.  Hardison knew she was right that Eliot was so messed up by what Moreau had done to him.  Parker loved Eliot, but would that be enough?  Apparently it hadn’t been as of right then.

“We could all live out here. Just be. I don’t want to live in that big palace. I want to be with you, and Eliot. Please, just be with me.”

He could never tell her no when she was crying.  It didn’t happen often, only a few times had he seen her like this.  The last time had been when one of her beloved wild animals had died. She cried in his arms until she was hoarse.  He was not going to cause her any more pain, any more anguish than necessary.

“What do you think he’d do if he found out?”

“He’s not the boss of me.”

“He’s not the boss of me either, but he’s stronger than me, so there’s that.”

Parker giggled through her tears.  He could always bring her back when she was sad. Most of the time it was Eliot that made her sad in the first place.

“I wanna take a bath,” Parker announced out of the blue. “In the bathtub.”

Hardison gaped at her, not knowing if she was for real or not.

“You’d have to be quiet.  Sophie’s been really tired lately.  Nate got pissed the other night when he heard me walking down the hall.”

“Quiet as a mouse.”

She was quiet as a mouse, or he didn’t hear her.

He decided to retreat to his room in the back of the house, away from the rest of them.  He always liked his solitude, if just to recharge from being around such crazy humans.  If it wasn’t Sophie bossing him around, it was Eliot being a grump or Parker flying around the yard or house, not able to sit still.  Now that they added Nate to the mix, with his mind always spinning, working on what to do about Moreau, Hardison was exhausted every night.

The tap at the door took him out of his night routine of tinkering with the radio he had found a few months before.  He knew there was no music on it anymore, but it still fascinated him that he remembered what it was for. Maybe someday it would work again.

“Yeah, El, I…”

Parker walked into the room, towel around her naked body.  He knew she was naked because her clothes which usually covered most of her body were gone.  Her hair was a wet mass because she hadn’t brushed it yet.  Her pale skin was almost translucent in the darkness of the hallway. He almost thought she was an angel.

“Parker,” he whispered.  “What are you doing?”

“Something I should have done a long time ago.”

She dropped the towel.  He’d seen flashes of her nakedness over the years, but nothing like this. She wasn’t shy about her body. It was just too damn cold most of the time to strip like this.  And it was too damn cold right then too since he’d already dropped the temperature down for the night.

“I thought you left,” he said as she came forward, into his room.

“Too dark.”

He knew that was a bunch of you know what.  She was like a cat and could see in the dark with the best of them.

“Too cold?”

“That too.”

“This is not a good idea.”

“Best idea I’ve had in a long time.”

She pushed the door closed behind her.

“Um, maybe I should find some clothes for you. It’s cold.”

“I think we already went over that.”

It was almost like she was stalking him, that he was her prey. Should he get caught? 

“Bed. Now.”

What was it about these women?  Sophie was bossy as hell.  Parker ordered him around.  He guessed it wasn’t just him since Nate tended to jump when Sophie asked and Eliot was at attention when either woman looked his way.

“We should talk about his,” his voice squeaked.

Damn, now he was embarrassed.  He didn’t want to look her in the eyes, see what she might be feeling.  His legs hit the side of the bed as she backed him up.

“Bed,” she ordered.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said as he scrambled up and on the bed.

She followed him, tossing the blankets so that she could crawl underneath. He sat there, on top of the blanket and looked at her, expecting her to do something, he didn’t know what.

“Well?” she started.

“Huh? Is there something on your mind?”

She sighed, rolling her eyes at him.

“Sophie’s right. Men are dense creatures.”

“Yeah, probably right,” he agreed.

Even with all the blankets piled on her and his clothes, when she pulled him down for a kiss, he thought he could feel her through it all. It scared him and made him definitely want to get underneath with her.

“Shuck the clothes and get under here now. I’m cold.  Chop, chop.”

“Bossy.”

“You better believe it.”

Hardison stripped off his clothes, making sure she couldn’t see much as he did.  He did as she asked, shying away from her just a bit before climbing in.  Lowering her head to his chest, she lay across him and breathed. No movement, no sound other than her puffs of breath for what seemed like an eternity.

“You asleep?” she finally asked.

“Nope.”

“Me neither.  Tell you what?”

“What?”

Her fingers started to tickle his chest as she lightly rubbed up and down. Not a good thing to do, he thought. Not at all.

“You make me warm and I’ll make you warm.  Deal?”

“Warm?” he stuttered out.

He didn’t know she was going to go for the straight shot, but this was Parker he was thinking about.  What did she know about pleasing a man?  She had hinted that she’d been with Eliot.  As her warm hand closed around him, he arched his back.

“Are you warm now?” she whispered in his ear.

“Definitely getting there.”

Her strokes were firm and made him feel like he was going to fly at any moment.  Taking her hand, he stopped what she was doing so that didn’t happen.

“Too much of a good thing.”

“Oh.  So?”

“So?”

“What’s next?”

He sort of knew what was next and could guess by what he watched on those videos.

“Uh, well. Lie down, next to me.”

She complied, snuggling up to him as she did. The heat that radiated off of her made him a bit warmer than he would have liked, but he was not going to complain.  As his hands started to explore, he could feel her heat up even more, a few gasps escaping as his fingers ghosted over her breasts.

“You’re supposed to touch them.”

“I know.”

“You’ve never actually done this before, have you?”

“And when would I have done this with a woman?”

“Good point.”

“There is this vid. Very instructional.”

“A vid? Aren’t those illegal?”

“And your point being?”

“Go ahead.  Use some of those instructions on me.”

Every inch of her was explored, kissed, tasted, and a few places licked too when he saw how much she liked the touching.

“Ok, ok, ok. Now that you’ve driven me crazy, can we get to the good part?”

Her hand found him again, willing him to move forward.

“Dammit, roll over.”

He immediately complied and watched as she moved over him. How could anything have been any sexier than watching Parker over him, moving up and down, giving him more pleasure than he had ever felt?

He’d seen on the vids what would happen at completion.  People would scream, cry, pant, moan. He’d heard plenty of it in the house, wondering if he could ever make Parker do the same as what Sophie was probably experiencing.  Taking his cues from her, he touched her as she moved over him. It didn’t take him long to moan since he had no idea it would feel this great, feel like he wanted to come apart. She kept moving, even when he was done. She must not have finished, so he touched her again, watched the smile on her face, felt as her body tightened around him.

“Ok, that was much better than just watching,” he commented as she sprawled out on top of him.

“Ya think?”

They both laughed together as he hugged her to him. He was the happiest man on earth at that moment.  Parker loved him. He finally was able to tell her that he loved her. What else could go wrong?


	16. What Else Could Go Wrong?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, what else could go wrong with the five? Everything.

Chapter Sixteen--What Else Could Go Wrong?

“You son of a bitch,” Sophie heard someone yell downstairs.

Then came a crash and a scream.  Nate tensed beside her, awake now too.

“Stay here,” he commanded.

She most definitely would not stay in her bed as someone downstairs was getting beaten or worse.  As she pulled her dressing gown around her shoulders, Nate had already pulled his pants on, racing down the hall without even knowing what was going on.  She heard Hardison yelling, possibly Parker too.  Why on earth was Parker in the house this early?

“You bastard,” she heard Eliot as she reached the top of the stairs.  Nate was finally at the bottom, turning right after the corner.

“Eliot, no,” Nate commanded.

As she finally made it down, she found Eliot on top of Hardison, who was completely naked. His fist was several inches from Hardison’s head, ready to pummel the man hard. Parker stood right next to them, pulling on Eliot, trying to make him stop.  The sheet that she had on didn’t cover much.  She was naked too.

“Oh, bloody hell,” she vocalized.  What have they done?

Nate spread his hands wide, trying to coax Eliot off of Hardison, to not kill the younger man where he lay.  The tears on Parker’s face had Sophie going over to her sister, pulling Parker against her to make sure she was not in the way of whatever would happen. She most definitely did not want Parker getting hurt.

“Do you realize what you’ve done?” he shouted at Hardison.

“Eliot, let him go. We can talk about this.”

Nate was right. They could talk about this.  The rage on Eliot’s face worried Sophie so much she stuck her hand out to calm him. 

“Do you realize what he’s done?” he directed at her.  “If anything happens, if anyone finds out, they’ll kill him.”

“No, no they won’t. No one will find out, Eliot. Please stop,” Parker begged.

“Eliot, I’m going to ask you one more time.  Step away.”

The gun that was now at Eliot’s temple made Sophie gasp. Where had Nate gotten that?  She kept the guns locked up, if just to make sure no one was hurt or worse.

“Old man, you don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Neither do you.”

Nate was correct. Eliot was bereft. She’d never seen him so upset, unless one counted the time that Moreau had almost killed him.  Then he just wanted to die. 

Eliot snaked his hand out, hit the gun out of Nate’s hand.  The punch glanced off Nate’s shoulder, but he ducked enough where he got in a good shot to Eliot’s face, stunning him momentarily.  That had hurt, Sophie could tell.  Pushing Parker away, she stepped in between the two of them, to stop both of them from hurting each other. The next punch that Eliot threw hit her. He was so out of his mind right at that moment, she didn’t think before throwing herself at Nate, if just to stop it all.  The look of anguish as Eliot pulled up, missing her just enough where it didn’t hurt as much had him reeling. 

“Sophie,” he cried. “Dammit, woman. Just, what are you doing?”

Nate pulled her away and behind him.  The spot where he connected hurt a bit, but nothing she hadn’t handled before.

“Eliot, stand down,” Nate growled, standing up to him.  “If you come near her, I swear I’ll kill you.”

Eliot collapsed at his feet, head hung low.

“Oh, god, Soph. I’m so sorry.  I could have really hurt you.”

She’d never seen Eliot lose it like he did right then.  Sure, he had been a mess for a long time after Moreau had done his own damage to the man.

Sophie was never one to let an emotional scene get to her.  She was always cool, calm and collected, even when she abandoned the palace with her only friends those many years ago.  Nate would tell her later that she staggered. She never staggered. She probably was lucky she was standing so close to him so that she didn’t hit her head on any of the furniture.  Swooning would have been a better term, although she never fainted in her life.  Must have been all the excitement, all the drama plus the injury she had just sustained.  She wasn’t weak or needed help in any way.

“Sophie,” Nate screamed at her as she felt herself falling.

His arms caught her, laying her gently on the ground. She’d say that he was her hero, but she didn’t want him to get a big head and think she needed someone to save her. She’d save herself, which was what she was planning on doing in a few weeks. Sure, she needed all their help.

Hardison had scrambled out of the way, probably to put some clothes on.  Parker pulled the sheet tighter around her body as she crouched down beside Sophie.

“I hurt her,” she could hear Eliot say from the floor not ten feet from her.

She wanted to call him a drama queen, but knew he was hurting, so she’d not for the moment.  Hardison brought her a glass of water while Nate held her in his arms.

“Let’s get her upstairs,” Nate said as he started to lift her.

“Just wait. I was just light headed.  With all the screaming and hitting.  All you bloody men are so fucking overdramatic.”

You could hear a pin drop when they all turned their heads her way.

“Well, it’s true.”

“Did she just say the f word?” Parker came out with.

“Yes, Parker.  Fucking bloody hell yes.”

“There, she did it again.  Did you hit her head, Eliot?  Because if you did?”

“Parker, stand down,” Nate ordered.

Parker stood in front of Sophie, fists out and ready to take anyone down who tried to get to Sophie.

“Will you just let me,” Sophie started to say as she tried to stand up.  “Oh boy.”

She was woozy.

“Soph, don’t stand up. Just stay there until you feel steady.”

Nate’s face had gone pale, eyes welling up with tears.

Sophie pointed to Eliot.  “You, go to your room, right now. And don’t say another word.  Cool off.”

Then she pointed to Hardison.  “You, get out of here. Anywhere but here.  I’ll speak to you, later.”

Hardison listened to her right away and left, front door slamming as he did.

Lastly, she pointed to Parker. “I know you mean well, but you’re in the middle of all this.  Run free, go to your cave.  Come back at midday.  I want to talk to you first.”

They all scrambled, leaving the room in a huff.  Nate was almost clutching her now, like he wanted to say something.

“I’m sorry, Sophie.”

“For? For those lovesick teenagers who just ruined my living room?  I can take a punch, Nate. I’ve taken them before. I’ve thrown plenty too.”

“You don’t understand.”

No, she didn’t understand at all why he was so upset, the look of worry etched across his face. And the possibility that he might throw up on her to boot.

“Enlighten me then,” she blasted back. “You’re so smart. Know it all.  Bastard. Just tell me what the hell is the matter with you?”

He looked at her but didn’t answer right away.  A grimace, then a scowl crossed his face.

“I think you’re pregnant, Sophie.”

“What? Don’t you think I know my own body,” she yelled back. “How on earth would you know?”

He looked down at her stomach, closing his eyes once he did.

“This isn’t happening. Do you understand me?”

“I read through that whole book that Hardison gave me.  What do you think the Macnas is for?  It’s a fertility ritual. Now you see why you’ve never gotten pregnant before?”

“And I’ve told you before anyone can get pregnant, even without some archaic ritual.”

Sophie sucked in her breath.  Closing her eyes, she buried her head in her hands.

“It’s been triggered in you. Moreau doesn’t know.  He thought he could do it to you, to make you want him. That’s why he’s ordered you to the palace.  He’ll kill me and take you.  You’re already pregnant.”

“No, no, no.  I can’t be. He’ll kill me or try to just to get rid of it, if I am because I’m not saying that I am.”

He took her hand in his. “You are.  Can’t you understand?  You’re sleeping more than normal. You’re, um…”

“What?”

“You’re breasts have gotten larger, more sensitive.  Your stomach is…”

“If you tell me I’ve gotten fat, I’ll unman you.”

“And have quite the temper, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“So I’m ill-tempered now?  And I’ve gained a bit of weight?”

He knew exactly what to do to make her be quiet, if just for a bit.  His lips claimed hers, making her a bit dizzy again until he let her up for air.

“How long have you known?” she asked.

“A few weeks.  I have no idea how far along you are.”

“He can’t know.”

“I know.  Why was it triggered early? There’s gotta be a reason. I’ll find it before we go up against him. For you to start showing signs, you have to be at least a month.”

Sophie knew right then and there that he was right.  She never thought it could happen, or had wanted it to happen.

Then it came to her all at once. She knew of a way, to make sure when the time came Moreau would leave her be.

“That’s it. I know what to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“If we can pinpoint the time of conception. If I’m three months along, he cannot touch me.”

“The ritual is still on though?”

“I don’t know. I just remember something I read once upon a time.  We have to know.”

“Hardison said there’s no modern medicine. That it was banned.”

“Doesn’t mean it still doesn’t exist.  At least the equipment.”

“To be three months along, it would have to be…”

“The first time. I knew I shouldn’t have let you touch me.”

“Touch you? You practically took me where I stood.”

“Well, I couldn’t help it. It was all your fault. This has never happened to me.”

“My fault? You were just as much a full participant as I was.  Didn’t I warn you?”

“Nate, it wasn’t like I knew you had the magic bullet.”

They sat side by side on the floor, backs up against the sofa.

“So what are we going to do?” he asked.

“Oh, find something to figure out how far along I might be.”

“No, I know how to do that.  What about them?  The three of them?”

“Oh, I have no idea.  If, by the looks of things, Hardison has taken her to bed, it could cause complications.  I’m not going to say a word though. It’s not like I don’t have my own troubles.”

Nate shot her a dirty look.

“Listen, these things are so archaic.  Classes, who we can love and not love or have sex with.  If things had gone as planned, I would have been married to Eliot by now.”

The look of violence that crossed Nate’s face was not mistaken by her.

“Eliot? And when were you going to tell me about him?”

She slapped him on the arm. “We’ve never done anything. He’s never even kissed me.  If my brother had survived, I would have been married to Eliot.”

“That makes me feel so much better,” he responded sarcastically.

“So what if Parker’s taken them both to bed.  More power to her.  Except the fact that now they both want to kill each other.”

“I think it was just Eliot doing the killing.”

“What are we going to do?”

“I’m scared. For you.”

He was scared? She was frightened to death about all of it.  She never thought she could become a mother and it still wasn’t a guarantee.  Her age, the fact that modern medicine had been banned, the fact that Moreau would stop at nothing to destroy her and all she held dear?  Nothing was going her way, except for the man right beside her. What did she do to deserve him?

As she lay her head down on his chest, she prayed that she would find the answers, that everything would work out the way it should.  Six months ago, she was a lonely woman living out her days in misery. Now she had a chance at happiness.  Sophie wouldn’t let Moreau ruin it.  She couldn’t.  She had too many people to worry about, to care about for that to happen.


	17. Home

Chapter Seventeen--Home

The sirens off in the distance frightened him.  Where was he?  The alley was dark, rain pouring down, drenching him.  As it fell, he couldn’t get up and get to shelter.  The wound in his side had gotten infected and fever had set in.  Lying on the ground was better since it cooled his body enough to make it numb.

It stank to high heaven, dumpster overflowing right beside him.  It didn’t provide him any protection other than cutting off the cold wind.  He’d just lie there, perhaps to sleep.  Footsteps drew near, making him want to get up and run, but he couldn’t move a muscle.  All the life had drained out, making him not care anymore.  He’d go away in his mind, figuring that was better than being where he was. 

The last thought as he drifted off was he wanted to go home. It’s that thought that stuck with him, made him clench up, breathing now labored.  He wanted to go home.

“Nate,” he heard off in the distance.

He wanted to go home.


	18. Three Months

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three months. Both Nate and Sophie contemplate what that means.

Chapter Eighteen--Three Months

It had been a few days since Eliot’s and Hardison’s dust up over Parker.  Sophie had tried talking to each one of them, but they all clammed up.   No one was talking to anyone and it annoyed Nate to no end. They had started using him as an intermediary, almost like passing notes in class. He’d had enough of their juvenile behavior.  They had to pull it together so that in the coming weeks, they’d be a team, a family united.  If that didn’t happen, then there was no way they’d win over Moreau. He was just too damn powerful.

“You have to wear this,” Sophie said as he sat on the bed, feeling dejected.

“That?” he asked, surprised that she held up leather pants.  “No way am I going to be seen in that.”

“It’ll fit.”

“Bullshit.  No man my age should be seen in that.”

“Then what do you suggest?  The beard needs to go too.”

Nate was not having any of it.  Digging in her closet, he pulled out something he never thought he’d see again.

“Are you sure? It’s archaic at best. I’ve not seen any man wear one of those in ages.”

“Well, let’s start a trend, shall we?”

Sophie turned her head and grinned at him. She was feeling a bit better since the fight, but was woozy more often than he liked. He was sticking close to her now, making sure she ate enough and rested.  The food stores were very tight, but Eliot had managed to resupply them just a bit, enough to last until they traveled to the palace.

“I shouldn’t have cleaned the thing in the first place.”

“I’m glad you did.  It fits.  Those, on the other hand…”

“Wear them for me then.”

“Not tempted.”

As he hugged her to him, he thought that this could actually work.  Their plan was in place, everyone knew their jobs.  Even Parker had a job.  Sophie had vehemently said that she could not participate, but if he knew Parker, she’d come anyway. Now they could keep an eye on her in addition to letting her help.  She was his insurance just in case his plan went sideways.  Her job would be to get Sophie out of there to safety.  Parker knew the palace better than anyone.  He hoped though that Moreau hadn’t changed much in the layout. That was crucial.

“Hardison found the piece of equipment that we need.”

Sophie raised her head from his chest, a look of worry etched across her face.

“Not sure I want to find out.”

“We have to.”

His hand automatically went to her stomach.  It seemed a bit rounder than it was before.  Her breasts were heavier, her face softened a bit.  She was most definitely pregnant with his child. It scared him down to his toes.

“Three months.”

“Yeah.  Three months.”

Having three months under her belt meant that the pregnancy was more than likely viable.  The longer she went, the more he hoped that he could live to see his child born. 

“We can’t let him trigger the Macnas, Nate.  It might kill the baby.”

“Means we have to deal with the food and drink. Not let anyone around you except for us. We can’t trust anyone.”

“I don’t plan on it.  No matter who they are.”


	19. They Have to Work Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parker, Eliot and Hardison agree to work together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK people. I have no idea whether the tech will work this way. Just go with the flow on this. Whatever Hardison says will work, it will!

Chapter Nineteen--They Have to Work Together

“We’re gonna have to sneak in.  I have to hook it up to solar power.  I just hope it gets enough juice to start.”

Eliot glared at Hardison, but knew he’d have to suck it up if this was going to work.

“We have to make sure it works before we steal it.”

“It will work,” Parker commented, suiting up also.

She was the only one who could get into the building undetected.  Her small frame and ability to get through any kind of small space made her key to bringing the equipment back.

Eliot sighed.  They had to work together on this.  No ifs ands or buts to it.  They could do it.  He needed to call a truce, needed them to be friends again.

“Listen, we gotta work together on this.”

“Yeah.  We know,” Hardison answered.

Parker shook her head yes too.  So far, so good.

“We had a good thing going and now it’s all messed up.  After this, let’s talk, the three of us.  I know that there’s too much water under the bridge.”

“What does that mean?  Too much water under the bridge?” Parker was too literal for her own good.

“It means we all messed up and can’t go back to where we were.”

Hardison was right.  They couldn’t just go back to the normal they were used to.  The three of them got along so well before, but there had always been this underlying current.  What had happened between them brought it out in the open, for all to see.

“I just want the two of you to know that I care.  See, I said it.” Hardison looked back at Eliot shaking his head.

They were best friends, more than best friends. They were brothers, even though the skin tone and age differences were tremendous in others’ eyes.  They liked different things, had their own strengths and weaknesses.  Eliot could hit, Hardison could duck.  Parker had been the one thing that brought them together.

“Me too,” Parker replied.

“There’s no doubt that we all care about each other.  It’s just complicated right now.”

They stood in a circle now, within arm’s length of the other two.  None of them would look each other in the eye, feet shuffling, hands flexing.

“Eliot, Hardison.  I’ve never told either of you this, but I’m sorry.”

Eliot could see out of the corner of his eye Hardison’s head swivel, eyes open wide.  The issue that he did almost the exact same thing literally milliseconds later was not lost on Hardison.

“Sorry for what?  We all did things.”

“I agree, Parker.  We were all in this.  Didn’t communicate what we wanted.”

What did Eliot want?  When he was young, he wanted to be the head of security for the king.  Later, when he was banished along with the others, he wanted to protect them all from the harshness of the world. Now all he wanted to do was win and then be alone.  This battle, this way of life had taken a toll on him, his soul was forever damaged. He wouldn’t bring down the other two because of this.

“You know that Sophie won’t stop the two of you from having a relationship,” Eliot started.  “And I know that you love her, Alec. I hope that the feeling is mutual, Parker. He’s a good guy.”

“Eliot, I’m not saying that I love one person over the other.  The two of you are my world.”

“The two of you.  My best friends.  I couldn’t give that up, no matter what,” Hardison answered back.

Parker grabbed Eliot’s hand at the same time she grabbed Hardison’s. 

“No one’s leaving anyone. Got it? If I have to hunt one of you down, it will not go well,” Parker told the two.

“It’s not for you to decide,” Eliot softly told the thief.

“But I can decide who I love or not. I don’t care about what the law says or the king or queen says.  I love the both of you.   Get over yourself, Eliot. I don’t care how damaged you think you are.  You’re a good man. Alec, I don’t care who your parents were.  I’m a princess. I get what I want.”

Both Eliot and Hardison laughed a little at that statement. Parker had never used the princess card before.  Sophie had many, many times in the past, getting her out of trouble and into trouble as fast as Eliot could snap his fingers.

“Yes, ma’am.”

He agreed with her just to keep her calm. In the end, he would make the decision to walk away.  She would be mad at first, then settle down with Alec Hardison and make beautiful babies and be done with him forever.  Besides, he really didn’t think he’d survive what was coming.  His main focus was to make sure Sophie survived.  That was going to happen. And for that to happen, he knew he needed to kill Moreau.


	20. Nate Starts to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They figure out what they need about Sophie. Nate starts to remember his life from before.

Chapter Twenty--Nate Starts to Remember

Stealing the ultrasound equipment was easier than they thought it would be.  It was not guarded heavily, so they could slip in and out without anyone the wiser.  Hardison had also grabbed more tech than they needed though and was chastised by Nate for it.  It could have blown up in their faces, but once Nate saw what he had stolen, his face lit up.

“You know how to operate these?” Nate asked.

“Sure. Just gotta make sure the batteries I have to use are good. I did steal extras.  Those things are supposed to last for years, even without use.  If it keeps us safe, then it’s gotta be worth almost getting caught.”

“Hardison, you were lucky,” Eliot reminded the man.

They had to be lucky to do this. The plan was always going to be fluid, but if his interpretation of the laws were correct, Moreau would be packing his bags soon.

It took Hardison an hour to hook up his solar generator to the ultrasound equipment.  Sophie paced back and forth in front of him, going from holding her stomach to hugging her middle tight.  No matter what the results were, she definitely was pregnant.  Proving the timing was still dicey, but this was all they had.  No miracle magic could help them otherwise.

“Good to go,” Hardison finally announced.

Everyone let out a breath that they were holding.

“This is not perfect, you know. It’s a machine. One that hasn’t been used in years.  It could be wrong by as much as a few weeks.”

“It’s going to be right,” Sophie shook her head.  “It has to be right.”

They all waited in anticipation as Hardison placed the wand on Sophie’s stomach.  They had lucked into the gel that was needed too, if just by chance because Parker almost knocked it to the ground as they were leaving. 

Nate held Sophie’s hand as he looked on the tiny screen.

“It’s a peanut,” Parker commented.

“A blob,” Eliot threw in.

“I don’t see anything,” Sophie added.

Hardison sharpened what they were seeing.  Parker turned her head sideways, then upside down.

“Oh my god, there’s an arm.  Wow. Did you see it?” Parker pointed at the screen.

A baby.  It was a baby, on the screen. He could finally make out the head, see something that looked like a leg.

“Definitely older than eight weeks.  According to the book I have, it’s approximately 12 to 14 weeks along.  It could be a bit younger, like 11 weeks, but nah, I think we are good.”

“Moreau’s not going to care, you know.  He’s going to conclude that we used magic to get the age.  There has to be another way.”

Nate couldn’t think of anything else, knowing what he knew of the technology. Images blurred his vision.  The sight of a baby in his arms, being baptized.  A five year old boy running to him, hugging him tight.  A lifeless body on a bed, pale and limp in his arms.

“Nate, what’s wrong?”

He made it out the door and down the path before any of them could tell him to stop.  The images that flashed in his head were becoming more and more prominent.   He was almost at a breakthrough, figuring out what had happened to him.  It hurt though, hurt too much sometimes.  He wanted them to go away, because he knew that if they finally did break through, he might have to leave all that he had, all that he had created.  They relied on him too much now.  He had to see this through.  Those four were too important.  And now that a life was growing inside of Sophie? That was the most important thing of all.

He hadn’t intended to run to the field, the place where they’d found him that cold autumn day.  Snow covered the stalks of grass that were idly sticking up out of the ground.  It was bleak to say the least.  Trees swayed off in the distance, leaves gone for the duration of winter.  As he breathed in the silence, his lungs hurt from the cold and the long distance run. 

“Nate, please wake up.”

“He’s here.  We found him.”

“Don’t leave us.”

“You gotta pull out of this.”

As his knees gave out on the cold ground, he pounded the surface in frustration.  He’d not leave them. 

“I’m not leaving,” he shouted at the top of his lungs.  “Go away.”

Warmth on his brow, a hand on his arm, a tear on his face.

“I love you, Nate.”

His scream of no could probably be heard at the palace.  He would stay, see this through. If his life on the other side of whatever he was seeing was still there, then he’d give in to it, then figure out a way back here.


	21. The Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team arrives at the palace, meeting someone who could be an ally.

Chapter Twenty-one--The Arrival

It took them almost a day to travel to the palace.  Eliot was on alert the whole time as was Sophie.  Every sound, every movement that was out of place was scrutinized.  They’d decided to travel without anyone’s knowledge.  Getting there in one piece would help their odds of survival.  Moreau wouldn’t know when they were supposed to arrive, so when they did, everyone in the palace was up in arms about their sudden arrival.  Sophie was told that Moreau was seething, but she really didn’t care.

They offered her a small room in which to sleep, without her escorts.  She refused, knowing that he was not following protocol.  Calling upon the advisors of the court, she told them that she’d only accept a full invitation, explaining that she’d come far for all of them to hear her plea.  The three men reluctantly agreed to her plea, although they eyed her warily, knowing that if she regained power, then their jobs were in jeopardy.

“Hello, Sophie.”

Not a voice she wanted to hear, but knowing what she knew, he was still employed, even though he was one of her father’s most trusted confidants.  Nate stood directly behind her, glaring at whoever approached her.  Eliot stood in front of her, daring the man to pass or to even speak to her.  Hardison stood off to the side, still at attention, but looking to defend her.  Parker of course was nowhere to be seen, slipping away from them as they approached the city.  She was so scared for her sister, knowing that she was putting her life on the line.

“Sterling.”

“As lovely as ever.  I see you still have your guard dog.”

“I see you’re still a prick, Sterling,” Eliot echoed.

“I see you’re still a short asshole,” Hardison added.

“Did you ever think that I might be here to help all of you?  I know why you’re here.  I even know a bit about what Moreau has in store.  If you don’t want to hear what I have to say?”

Sterling backed away.

“Let him stay,” Nate finally answered.

“Oh, the alleged consort speaks.  Older than I thought you’d be. Of course, with how old Sophie is.  Sophie, this won’t work.  You have no business coming here.”

“I have every business being here.  Moreau is slowly killing my people.  You know that as well as I do.  And he summoned me, not the other way around.”

“He summoned you?  Now that does change things.  He wants something from you.  What could he want?”

Sophie had chosen to wear her best clothes, wrapped up in a cloak so that no one could tell her condition.  Most probably wouldn’t be able to tell since she hadn’t been seen for years by any of these people.  The men were dressed the same, cloaks around them, hiding the weapons that they had on their person.  No reason to reveal who and what they were until the time came. 

“You tell me, Sterling.  I just cannot let him continue with what he’s done.”

Sterling looked her up and down, like he was trying to assess her.

“He’s gotten a new woman.  She keeps saying that she can tell the future.  It’s gotten him all in knots thinking that there’s something you will do in the future that will upset him.  I’ve heard rumors that he will finally take you.  Do you realize what that means?”

“I already have a husband, thank you very much.”

She felt Nate tense behind her just slightly because he was standing so close to her.  Sterling narrowed his eyes at the movement by Nate.

“He does not believe that the one you’ve chosen for consort is worthy.  Sophie, just give up the ghost and let him have you.”

“Let him have me?” she yelled.  “Why on earth would I let that man touch me? Why do I have to bow before him?  He is not to be king.  He never can be.  He has shown with his actions that he is not trustworthy. I cannot abide anymore letting him destroy what my father built for many years.”

“There’s only the four of you.  What can you do?”

“What can she do?  I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” Hardison grumbled.

He took out the old tablet he was carrying underneath his cloak and poked a few buttons.  The lights flickered, then dimmed and came back on again.

“Is it done?” Sophie asked.

“Message sent.  Everyone has received it as of now.  We’ll see how much support you have.”

“Sophie, that system has not been used in years.”

“It still works,” Hardison pointed out.

“He’s going to challenge you, you know that.”

“Sterling, I have to know if I have your support.”

Sterling paced as Eliot kept a close eye on him.  As she looked at Nate, a thought crossed her.  If maybe Nate could speak to him, since they seemed to be contemporaries, maybe Sterling would understand how important it was to fix this mess that Moreau had created.

“Sterling, I don’t know you.  But I’m sure you recognize that if something is not done to fix what Moreau has messed up, this whole city and most of the area surrounding it will fall to another.  He may be strong in military, but he certainly won’t be able to feed and clothe the people if he goes to war.”

Sterling’s eyebrows shot up.  Nate had been right.  From what he’d read, if the kingdom was falling into disrepair, then it was ripe for the picking. As it was, it still might be.  Sophie might be able to negotiate a peace treaty, but not with Moreau anywhere near the throne.  Her only option would be to see that Moreau was finished once and for all.

“How did you know?”

“Supplies are getting very short.  Things are rotting from the inside.  It was only a matter of time before someone started to inquire whether Moreau could handle the governing of such a large province.  He cannot.”

“Fifteen years is a long time, Sophie,” Sterling reminded her.

“Fifteen years of no progress can be fixed, in time.  Fifteen more years of this will spell certain doom for everyone, even you, Sterling.”

“So I throw my hat in with you lot. What if you lose?  He will have my head along with the four of you.”

“Could be fun,” Hardison said as he kept tapping on his tablet.

“Hey, aren’t those banned?” Sterling finally said.

“Could be.  I dunno. I haven’t been here in fifteen years.”

Sterling took that as a valid answer. 

“So where do we start?” he asked.

“Our plans are our own.  You just prove your loyalty to me and we’ll see where we go from here.”

There was no way she was going to trust him fully.  He still had some power in the kingdom.  To hold that power for as long as he had, he had dealt with some very bad people, including Moreau.

“You don’t trust me?”

“Should we?” Nate inquired.

“Not likely.  Still.  Be nice to have you by my side.  Or at least not challenge me.”

“Oh, I’ll not challenge you, my lady.  I can provide services though, for a price.”


	22. Where's Parker?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parker has information.

Chapter Twenty-two--Where's Parker?

The royal suite that was readied for them was large, but not so large that Eliot could not defend them if necessary.  He paced up and down, checking for any sign that Moreau was watching them.  Hardison helped out with that, finding several devices that someone had planted.  And everyone said that Moreau didn’t use technology?

His job was just going to be tough.  No way could he watch them all at every turn.  Sophie was the main concern, but with Parker who knew where and the fact that Hardison could be killed for just being there made him itch to get started.  He wanted Moreau dead.  His friends, his family would not suffer under his hands any more.

“They’ll want us at court within the day, probably tomorrow.  We should get some rest.  I suggest we all take turns, except Sophie, guarding the rooms.  Just wished I knew where Parker was.”

“Right here,” Parker said, making Hardison squeal just a little.

“Parker, what did I tell you?”

Eliot saw Sophie breathe a sigh of relief at Parker showing up.

“Hardison.  What?  It was fairly easy, although their patrols are pretty tight.  I did follow Sterling.”

“Parker, that was not what you were supposed to do.”

“So?  We have to figure out whether he’s going to come to our side.  I think he will.”

“How so?” Sophie asked.

“Gotta girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?  Who?”

“You are not gonna believe this.”

“Spill,” Eliot urged Parker.

“Margaret.”

“Maggie?” Eliot gasped.

“She’s, she’s, what?  What happened for her to break her vows?”

Nate looked a little perplexed at what was going on.

“See, Margaret, or Maggie, is or probably now, was the high priestess.  Sort of like the head of the church. She’s not supposed to be with guys.  Celibate.  Looks like she’s not celibate any longer from what I saw.”

“Parker.  You eavesdropped?” Eliot chided.

“Yeah, not for long though.  Eww.  They were going at it pretty hot and heavy.  Oh, and it looks like she’s pregnant.”

“What?” Sophie declared.  “That’s not supposed to happen. Definitely with the high priestess.”

“Well, they looked like they actually liked each other.  This is getting stranger and stranger.”

None of it was adding up in Eliot’s head.  The high priestess was no more.  Moreau was making a move.  Some mysterious woman was around, possibly interfering in everything.

“We have to find out who this mysterious woman is.  Did you see her, Parker?”

“No. Nothing.  I can go back out though.”

Eliot did not want to chance it.  If she were caught, then the whole thing could fall apart.

“We should get some rest,” Nate told the group.  “Sophie needs rest.”

“I’m perfectly capable of helping to plan this out.”

“I’m sure you are.  On a full night’s rest, Soph.”

Sophie tensed beside Nate at him using her nickname.  It was one that her father often used. Sometimes Eliot would let it slip too, using it when he wanted her to comply with something he really needed.  Nate wouldn’t know what it meant.  Eliot certainly did.


	23. Nate and Sophie

Chapter Twenty-three--Nate and Sophie

As the two of them started to get ready for the night, Nate could tell that Sophie was exhausted.  Her eyes drooped as she slipped off her gown, having it pool at her legs.  By the few lights that were still on in the room, her skin seemed to glow as she shed the rest of her undergarments.  Too many things to wear underneath those damn dresses.  He could hear her sigh once she had most of them off.

“Like the show?” she asked as she walked toward him.

“Oh, I like it better when we were out on the farm.  Much less clothes on.”

“I hate these things also.  Tomorrow, I’ll wear something different.”

“Different?”

“You’ll see.”

“You’re very cryptic.”

The chair that Nate had deposited himself in once they had arrived in the room was big enough for the two of them.  He watched as Sophie pulled the pins from her hair, sighing with pleasure once it was all released and falling onto her shoulders.  Even with the traveling, she still smelled incredible.  She stretched her body around on his lap before finding a comfortable position, head resting on his shoulder.

If anyone didn’t know her, they’d never be able to tell that she was pregnant.  But he knew every inch of her now, how her stomach was just a bit larger, her breasts rounder and fuller.  She’d gained almost no weight at all, but he could see the changes in her.  He hoped that Moreau would not, until they were ready for him to know.  As Sophie’s hands raked through his hair, her lips nipped his neck, sending chills down his spine.

“I think I have too many clothes on,” he whispered in her ear.

She’d gotten down to a few wisps of fabric, not covering much at all. One finger trailed down between her breasts, down her stomach, dipping down until he could hear her breath hitch as he made it to her core. Arching her body back, it gave him the opportunity to attach his mouth to her breasts, making her moan in pleasure.

He kept up using his mouth and fingers, pushing two inside finally.  The fabric on her breast was wet from his mouth.  Nudging it aside, he took her nipple into his mouth.  It didn’t take long before she tightened around his fingers, groaning out her release.

“You should rest,” he stated, arms tight around her.

Her hands raked through his hair, tongue darting out along his neck.

“I’m not done.”

Picking her up, he gently placed her on the bed, looking down as she squirmed. Her hand reached out for him to join her on the bed.  Slowly, he stripped off the clothes that Sophie had provided for him to travel.  Grinning up at him, she stripped off what little she had left.  Moving onto her knees, she hugged him around the middle. 

He throbbed as her soft, hot skin made contact, capturing him between her breasts.  Her tongue came out every time he thrust back and forth, teasing him. Her hands came up to hold him, working him up and down as he knelt over her.  Her mouth enveloped him, making him thrust back just a bit. Her humming almost undid him, but at the last minute, he held up, not wanting to frighten her since he had concluded that she’d never done something like this before. Working his way down her body as quickly as she’d let him, he thrust in deep and hard, making her moan with pleasure.  It didn’t take long for either one of them to reach their peak.

“One of these days, you’re going to let me finish,” she whispered in his ear as they both panted, out of breath.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Sophie dropped off into sleep soon after their encounter, but Nate couldn’t.  Something was nagging him, like he’d forgotten something important about all this.  He’d figure it out eventually, hoping that it would be sooner than later.  They all needed to catch a break, to help them survive what was to come.


	24. Sterling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sterling is trying to play Moreau's game. Moreau is one sick man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** there are implications of torture and abuse in this chapter**

Chapter Twenty-four--Sterling

“So they didn’t find it?”

Sterling grimaced, but answered the man in front of him.  He had to keep playing this game, until he could figure out a way around Moreau, to keep Maggie safe from his clutches.

“Not that I know.  Hardison is only as good as the tech he has.  It’s decades old though.”

“Good.  You need to find Parker. Now.”

“I’m on it.  She’ll be found.  Mark my word.”

“Oh, I’ll mark your word, Sterling.  Maggie looked lovely tonight.”

Sterling flinched ever so slightly.

“We agreed.”

“Oh, we did not agree to anything.  Until I finish this, there is no agreement.  Find Parker.  Destroy Sophie.  Where’s the recording?”

Sterling handed over what had been recorded in Sophie’s room.  It would make for good entertainment for Moreau.  Sterling had shut it off soon after verifying it had worked.  Nothing he ever wanted to see. Damien Moreau was a disgusting man to the nth degree. He’d see that Maggie stayed as far away from him as possible.

“Is he good?” Moreau asked.

“I didn’t watch it.”

“Oh, but you have to.  You might enjoy it.”

Enjoyment watching someone’s intimate moments was never on the top of his list.

“I’ll leave you to it.”

“No. Stay.”

Dammit, Sterling thought.  Moreau thought they were friends, compatriots?  Or he just wanted to punish Sterling for actually having feelings, needs, commitments. 

As the recording started, he could tell that Moreau was excited, not just because the video was practically porn, but the fact that Moreau finally had Sophie right where he thought she should be. He was enjoying the fact that he was hoping to destroy her once and for all.

“She’s exquisite.  After all these years. Why she’d want someone like that is beyond me.”

Moreau turned up the volume, just to hear the two lovers being intimate.  Sterling tried to look away, but knew that if he did, Moreau would notice and have his head.  He had to warn Sophie somehow, that every move that she made now was under scrutiny.

“He’s good. Wonder what he’d be like?  Once I have Sophie, then maybe I’ll give him a go too.  I guess that means I don’t kill him, yet.  Of course, there’s Spencer to take care of also.  I want to make sure that Parker has a front row seat for all of it.  She has to learn who is boss.  See that it happens.”

It was apparent on the video that this Nathan Ford may actually love Sophie.  If he didn’t, he sure was a great actor. 

“Now that’s what I want to see her do.  On her knees, in front of me, mouth open wide.  I’ll have to thank this Ford character for giving me the idea.”

Sterling almost threw up in his mouth.  Moreau would force Sophie to do anything he wanted. And if he didn’t help Moreau, Sterling figured that the same thing could happen to Maggie.  He needed to get Maggie to safety as soon as he could, before all this came to a head.

Moreau’s eyes were bright, smile wide as he watched the two lovers complete their coupling.  Sterling needed to escape as quickly as he could.

“Jim, come here.”

Fuck, he thought to himself.  Moreau was worked up.

“If Parker was spotted in the east wing, like I heard a few minutes prior, I need to get down to business.  By your leave?”

Moreau turned his head to the side, like he was trying to figure out whether to let Sterling go or not.  He most definitely didn’t want to be on the receiving end of anything that Damien Moreau had planned.  And he most definitely didn’t want to go down on his knees either. 

“Go do your job.  Send in whoever is waiting outside.”

Sterling opened the door to see who was waiting for him. She was gagged and waiting.  The look of fire in her eyes, he pitied her, but knew that there were only so many people he could save.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he walked by.

He thought he could hear her say that she’d fucking kill him, but he could have been mistaken.  He wondered why Moreau kept her around, with her penchant for attempting to kill him several times in the past.  Now she was gagged and tied up, ready for Moreau’s punishment.  Her blonde hair was trapped in the gag, her blue eyes searing into his skull as she looked at him.  It wasn’t his fault that she was captured.  It was all on her. Once Sophie found out though, there would be hell to pay.

“Oh, please come in, Tara.  I’ve been waiting for you.”

Tara screamed at Moreau, but he ignored it. The two guards wrestled her up and into his chamber, but not without a fight.  She’d get as many licks in as she possibly could.  He watched as she kicked out at Moreau, catching him on the chin.  He threw a punch her way, felling her in the doorway. She groaned as she attempted to get up and do it again.

The bruises from their last encounter had not faded that much, Sterling could tell.  Her arms looked to have defensive blows on them. Her wrists looked as if she’d been tied up tight.  Bite marks on the front of her chest indicated that Moreau probably did have his way last time.  At least he’d clothed her somewhat this time.  The last time, he’d paraded her around in next to nothing for his court. They laughed as he pinched her everywhere.  She spat back at him, eyes wild and terrified.  Sterling had made his leave as quickly as possible that time, to hide as much as he could.  No matter how much he tried to trade and figure out how to save her, none of it worked.  He even suggested that she work in one of his houses, but Moreau had other plans.  Tara was being punished just because she was once a part of Sophie’s house.  He shuddered when he realized that Sophie would suffer worse than Tara was right at that moment.

He had to warn Sophie, somehow.  Sterling was being watched closely, but he had other resources he could tap.  He wanted to save those in case of an emergency, but now that he saw the look in Moreau’s eyes, now was as much an emergency as could happen. He’d get Maggie out of harm’s way and see if he could rescue Tara.  Sophie had resources at her disposal.  Eliot would have to make his move sooner than later.  He knew the man had a plan to end Moreau once and for all.  It had to be done.  For all their sakes.


	25. Parker Steals Stuff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New tech for Hardison.

Chapter Twenty-Five--Parker Steals Stuff

Parker handed the new tech to Hardison with a smile and a wink.  She’d done it.  He had new tech to learn and handle.  And here everyone thought that Moreau held it all with disdain.  No, he just didn’t want anyone else to have the advantage.

“Not sure where you stole this from, mama, but this is exactly what we need.”

“I knew it.”

She looked so happy to be helping. He’d wanted to leave her back at the farm, to protect her from all this.  If this was it for all of them though, he had wanted to at least say goodbye. He’d protect her as much as he could.

“You did good.”

“Of course.  I think this one has something to do with the bugs you found.”

“Indeed it does,” Hardison said as he looked it over. 

It looked to control the devices. That might help them make sure that Moreau didn’t know what they had planned.  As he looked it over, he managed to fire it up.  As he tapped and pressed buttons on the screen, he pulled up video from all the surrounding rooms, including the one they were standing in, Sophie’s room, and throne room and all corridors between.  It was dark in Sophie’s room, but if it was enhanced, he knew that Moreau could see everything that went on and hear too.  If they had discussed plans, then Moreau would know. Luckily they hadn’t, yet.  But that didn’t mean Moreau hadn’t been watching their every move.  As quickly as he could, Hardison managed to erase the last hour of footage, hoping that it wasn’t stored somewhere else.  Then he put it on a continuous loop so that no one could see or hear what was going on in Sophie’s room.

“We gotta find the place where they keep all of this information. Any ideas?” he asked Parker.

“Maybe the basement.  There’s several offices set up down there with some of Moreau’s bodyguards. What? Do you think he knows stuff?”

“Luckily we haven’t said anything.  I don’t want Moreau knowing that we met with Sterling.  He might already.  They’re in shadow, but Nate and Sophie are in there, probably sleeping.”

Parker looked pensive.  “Probably not always asleep.”

“Find Eliot.  We gotta see what we’re up against.”

“Got it.  Be careful, Alec.”

She was telling him to be careful?  She was the one who was bouncing around the castle without backup, hiding in closets, going who knew where.


	26. Confronting Moreau

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team confronts Moreau finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I caught up with all that I've written. Guess that means I need to get busy.

Chapter Twenty-Six--Confronting Moreau

Nate shaved.  He didn’t want to, but knew by their plans he needed to obey Sophie at least in a few things she had planned.  He really didn’t want this Moreau character thinking he was a doormat.  Being a consort, according to Sophie, didn’t mean he’d sit around all day eating and doing her bidding.  He’d have a job, he’d been told by her. She just hadn’t told him what it was yet.  That would wait for later.

As he finished dressing, he found Eliot eyeing him, shaking his head in disbelief by what he was wearing.

“Moreau’s not gonna be happy.”

“Does it matter?”

“No.  Not really.  Just don’t push it too far.  My job is to protect Sophie first and foremost.  Don’t get in my way.”

By the look in Eliot’s eyes, he was deadly serious.  Nate hoped it wouldn’t become an issue with the man.  His main focus was to protect Sophie also.  He was hers, and vice versa.  He’d never let anything happen to her if he could help it.

Once he was dressed, he stowed whatever weapons he could on his person without them being seen.  Moreau was a bastard, according to the rest of them. Let him wonder what Nate actually was.  He’d be intrigued and probably pissed.  That wasn’t Nate’s fault.

“Oh, dear me.  You do clean up well,” he heard Sophie say behind him.

As he turned, he looked at her in awe.  She was stunning, was all he could think about.  Her gown hugged her breasts, making them the most prominent feature on display.  He wondered if he told her to choose something else to wear she would.  Not with that stubborn look on her face, but it might be interesting to try.  The material looked to be very expensive silk. Sophie had chosen royal blue, to compliment what he was wearing.  The gown was long and flowing, hiding her lovely legs, which was indeed a bonus to him.  Her hair fell in long ringlets, artfully done on top of her head and down her back.  Her eyes were ringed with smoky eyeshadow, her lips a deep red. This was not the Sophie he knew, back on the farm, ready to dig into the dirt to try and make things grow.  This was not the Sophie that kneaded bread, flour covering her arms up to her elbows. Her back was straight, too straight, the look in her eyes though he didn’t mistake.  If she could murder Moreau and get away with it, she would.  He’d have to watch and make sure she didn’t try.

The gown also hid things they didn’t want to show, like the fact that she was pregnant with his child.  There was no way Moreau could tell from what she was wearing. He’d have to keep an eye on her, make sure she didn’t show any outward signs of the pregnancy.

“The blue was the perfect choice,” she told him as she straightened his outfit.

A flash of her tugging on something, the smile on her lips as she turned around, as he followed.  The dress was red, cut down in the back to be almost indecent.  Who was this person in his dreams? It was Sophie, but not this Sophie. Or was she?  He shook his head to clear the image from his mind.  He had other things to think about, like how to defend her, to make sure she’d make it to the next hour, the next day.

“At least Eliot thought that the leather would be a good choice.”

“This is why I don’t take fashion advice from Eliot.  Hardison, are we ready?”

“Right as rain.  Just remember, those things in your ears pick up everything.  You mumble, I hear.  You scream, I really hear.”

“I just hope this goes as planned.”

“Oh, it will.  Or we will be dead.”

“Parker?” Eliot queried Hardison.

“She’s destroying evidence as we speak.  Told me she found where the tapes are stored.  There’s one missing though.  From what she could glean from the guards, it didn’t have any kind of info on it that told him our plans.  He might have gotten a preview of what’s to come though.  Just be prepared.”

“Preview of what’s to come?” Nate asked.

“Moreau had all the rooms bugged.  Things our old tech could not pick up.”

“Bloody hell,” Sophie sighed.

Nate growled in frustration.  The man was a menace, perverted to the nth degree.  Nate wondered how much more the man would demand and how much they could refuse.

Eliot waved them forward, taking up the front, with Hardison taking up the rear.  Two honor guards were before Eliot. They wouldn’t be the issue.  Moreau would be.

The room they were instructed to meet was enormous, decorated extravagantly.  No expense spared.  There were servants everywhere, filling glasses, showing people to their seats.  Yes, this was a show to them. The people taking their seats eyed him up and down, but most pointed at Sophie, like she was there for their amusement.  Sophie held her head high, not stooping to their level.

“Tara,” he heard Sophie’s intake of breath. 

Seated at the front, chain around her neck, sat a blonde woman. Nate could tell she’d been beaten recently if the bruises on her face were any indication.  But the level of fire in her eyes told him everything.  This was a woman who would not hesitate to kill. He just hoped it wasn’t Sophie.

“Sophie, take a deep breath.”

He could see out of the corner of his eye that Sophie had started to breathe heavily, like she was in distress.

“He’s tortured her.”

He could hear over the earpieces Eliot growling under his breath, not trying to show any emotion, but not succeeding.

“Listen, everyone.  If you show your hand now, we’re not going to get through this.  Don’t show anything right now.  Everyone in this room is sizing us up. And there’s only one Eliot to go around.”

Sophie’s chin came up even more. If looks could kill. 

The man seated before them, holding onto Tara’s chains, smiled their way. It wasn’t a pleasant smile. It was predatory, like a big cat ready to pounce.  Or a snake slithering through the grass.  Nate wanted to possessively put Sophie behind him, to protect her from the ass at the head of the room. That wasn’t his job at the moment.  He wouldn’t show his hand, just yet.

“Sophie Devereaux.  How on earth are you?”

As Moreau stood, Nate sized the man up.  Yes, he was tall, probably was around the same age as he was.  He was much fitter, more muscle, less grey. The leather pants did nothing for him though. Nate had chosen wisely.  He looked kind of ridiculous, not holding a candle to Eliot or some of the other, younger members of the court.  The makeup though around his eyes, made him seem sinister but it just didn’t do the job.  Even the smirk on his face was oily, not what Nate would consider a worthy adversary.  He’d not underestimate Moreau at all.  The man, at first glance, didn’t have much of a brain.  He did have muscle, Nate would give that to him.  He could probably beat him in a fight, unless Nate fought dirty. And he intended on fighting as dirty as he could if need be.

“And what do we have here?  Caught another one I see.  The last one was just perfect.  This one, not so much.”

Nate turned his head, looking at Moreau like he was a gnat to be swatted. 

“I am here to claim what is rightfully mine, Moreau.  If you do not step aside, I will have to use all the force that is available to me to relieve you of your position.”

“All the force? What? With damaged goods? Don’t tell me you think Eliot can kill all my men?  Hardison?  Is that you?  Don’t go running and screaming when the fight starts.  I know you might. And where oh where is the lovely Parker?”

“Not here. And not what we are discussing. I have it on proper authority.”

“I am the proper authority here.  You are not.”

The room had gone deadly silent once Sophie had started talking.  Now Nate could hear a pin drop. 

“I am the queen. You are just a minor inconvenience.”

Was Sophie purposely provoking the man?  He surely didn’t think that was in the plan they had proposed. 

“I have been running this kingdom for almost fifteen years.  Where were you?  Off playing?”

“Exile, if you must know.  Since you were the one who caused it.”

“Which you cannot prove.”

“Oh yes, we can,” came Hardison finally.

On the speakers in the room, a voice came out.  It must have been Moreau’s voice from long ago.  When Sophie said that Hardison was the best, she truly meant that.

“No one will believe you, when I send you away. You can stay and submit to me, or run. If you run, I will hunt you down and kill you and your merry little band.”

“Doctored.”

The room and its occupants stood in rapt attention.  Sophie was starting to make her point, he could tell.

Hardison projected onto a wall in front of Moreau photos of all the people that Moreau had beaten or worse.  The photos kept getting more and more graphic in nature, until he swore at Hardison to stop or he’d kill the man where he stood.  Nate didn’t react at all. That wasn’t the problem.  The problem was always going to be what was required of himself and Sophie.  All these other things were just for show.

“You think that you can just waltz in here, take the crown and be done with it?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” he heard Sophie say.  It sounded so much like him. 

“It’s not yours. You know that.”

“Which is why I am going to submit to the ritual. Once that is completed, then I will be queen, once and for all.”

“Oh, that ritual,” Moreau laughed.  “The one where the last time you tried, the guy keeled over and died on the spot?  Just by looking at your pathetic body, scarred and withered.”

“The scars which you provided, if you remember.”

“Oh, I had nothing to do with that.  A rival faction.”

Hardison called up another audio file, one where Moreau bragged to someone of what he’d done to her, everything he’d done to her.

“As I said, doctored.”

Eliot handed the challenge to the closest person on the court to give to Moreau, telling him of Sophie’s intentions.  He couldn’t refuse her.

“She has challenged you,” Nate could hear Sterling say off to the side.

He didn’t know that man was even in the room, much less knew what was going on.

“You must obey.”

Nate wanted to laugh. To be bested by Sterling? Why did he feel like he knew the man, knew he was only out for himself?

“Oh, I’ll obey.  That thing that’s behind her, he’ll never be able to keep up.”

Nate almost snorted out loud, but just put one of his own smirks in place, challenging Moreau himself now.

“Or should I say keep it up.”

Nervous laughter sounded throughout the chamber, echoing around them.  Nate had noticed that a few people had already disappeared from sight, probably because they knew something bad was potentially going to happen. 

It didn’t take long for Moreau to come down to their level.  This is where she was most vulnerable.  Nate was not going to let him come near or anyone else for that matter.  Damn Sophie and her rules.  If Moreau so much as touched her, it could be over.

“Let me pass,” Moreau said as Eliot placed his stick directly in his path.

Nate was directly behind Sophie, ready to pull her to him if Eliot did not succeed.  By the looks of things though, Eliot would not let that happen without a fight.

“Dear Eliot.  Oh how I’ve missed you.  Age has not dampened your beauty. Once this is truly done and over with, I really do think we need to continue what we started.”

Nate saw Eliot flinch just slightly, but pulled it together before most could see.  He hoped that Moreau didn’t.

“You put your fucking hands on me or anyone I care about, I will have to take them off, with force if necessary.”

As Moreau lunged for Sophie, Eliot’s stick connected with his head, taking him down to the ground. Sophie was behind Nate in seconds, Hardison crowding her to the back of him.  His knife was out and ready, the pistol beneath his jacket.

“I don’t think we’ve been introduced,” Nate started, calm on the outside.

Nate’s boot dug into Moreau neck.  Moreau had at least ten guys ready to yank him away, but the look on Sophie’s face told the group to not even try it.  Her reflection in the mirrors throughout the chamber made him proud.

“Nathan Ford. You attempt to get anywhere near Sophie, I will kill you.”

That probably wasn’t the thing to say, if just by the sharp intake of breath from Sophie, but if they wanted him to play rabid dog, he’d play rabid dog. Eliot smirked his way.  At least Eliot approved.

“I think you’re probably cutting off his air a bit,” Eliot gleefully told Nate.

“Not really caring at this point.”

He could feel Sophie’s gentle hand in his, urging him to let Moreau up at least.  Taking his boot off of Moreau, he backed away, Sophie sandwiched between him and Hardison still.

“You will be punished.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Moreau faced him now, glaring at his forwardness.

“The consort does not give orders.”

Reading that damn book for hours on end, months on end gave Nate the ultimate advantage.  He knew exactly how and where to hit Moreau, knew how to take the kingdom back.

“No, but the husband does. Am I right, Sterling?”

“Nate,” Sophie growled so only he could hear.

“Indeed you are.”

“You are not married to this whore.”

“He said it, didn’t he Eliot?”

“Yeah, he kinda did.”

Eliot shook his head. He knew where this was headed. Nate knew exactly where this was headed.

“Hardison. Read it.”

“OK, page 247, paragraph 5, subsection 2a.  The queen shall be married if she has taken upon herself a mate, who by in with has produced with her an heir that shall take control on his or her birthday, the twenty fifth, to be exact.  No other shall take the place on the throne until the heir comes of age.  Anyone on the throne shall be forfeit.”

“Oh, I know what that means?” Sophie spoke up. 

“Do enlighten us,” Moreau said to her sarcastically.

“See him.  We got married.  Remember that bloody archaic ritual you wanted me to participate in with you?  He kinda got there first.”

Sophie made a waving motion with her hands, like she was dismissing him from view.

“You still need to complete the ritual.”

“Which we have every intention of doing, without your help though.”

“You cannot.”

“Oh but we can.  Hardison?”

“OK, page 382, paragraph 2, subsection 8b.  It says here and I quote, whoever is second in line can take the place of the magistrate in times of need to be placed over the ritual of Macnas.  If said person deems it necessary to participate, then he or she shall.  Kind of means you’re not second in line.  Am I gettin’ this right? ‘Cause I wanna get this right?”

“Oh, you have it completely right, Hardison,” Sterling pointed out.

“I am second in line,” Moreau yelled.

“As if,” Nate heard Parker say as she walked into the room.  “Gotcha.  Besides, I might be kinda fun to watch Nate and Sophie have sex.”

“Parker,” each of them chided her to not continue.

“But I deflowered her, long ago. She cannot be second in line.”

Parker rolled her eyes.  “Why do you insist on spreading that rumor?  You didn’t because I broke your nose, you asshole.”

“Parker,” Sophie admonished her.

“Well, I did.  Besides, I have witnesses that you didn’t. Eliot?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Did he deflower me?”

“There’s no way in hell he could have known.  He was in the dungeon, being interrogated.”

“Well, not what I was getting at, but whatever,” Parker told Moreau.

Parker pointed to Eliot and then herself and then back again, smiling as she did.  This was the part that worried Nate.  Would Hardison blow this by claiming that Parker loved him instead?  To make sure this worked, they would have to swear that Eliot and Parker had sex. 

“You fucked the princess?” Moreau shouted as he looked at Eliot.

“Not like you were ever gonna,” Eliot shot back.

“He’s too old,” Parker shivered. “No offense Nate.”

“None taken.”

“So now we’ve established that Parker will preside over the Macnas.  What else is there?”

Sterling was smiling now, watching for the next move.  Everyone stood, silent as the next words out of Nate’s mouth might just ruin everything.


	27. Finding Nate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And that's where he was.

Chapter Twenty-Seven--Finding Nate

“Where the hell is he?”

Eliot raged at the nurse.  He was supposed to be in a room.  Eliot wasn’t certain how Hardison had found him, but he had. All his feelers had been out, every system Hardison could think of had Nate a priority. 

“If you would just calm a bit, sir.”

“Calm?  You lost a severely injured man.”

“Eliot, let’s just get to the bottom of this.  When was the last time you saw Mr. Ford?”

Eliot was glad that Sophie was with him because he was ready to punch a few people to get what he wanted.  All of this was causing too much stress for Sophie as it was.  Once he found Nate though, there would be hell to pay for whoever kidnapped him.

“He was in his room twenty minutes ago.”

“He couldn’t have gone far, Eliot.  How injured was he?”

The nurse clammed up all of a sudden.

“I can only release that kind of information to family members.”

“I’m his bloody wife.” Sophie flashed her ring in front of the nurse’s face.

“Hardison, you got anything?” Eliot asked as Sophie found out what exactly had been wrong with Nate.

“Traffic cameras are up as we speak.”

Parker came running up to him, out of breath.

“Nothing.  He’s not on hospital grounds, as far as I can tell.”

“Possible sighting, Eliot.  Some kind of cab.  Where the fuck is he going? This is just crazy.”

“Head trauma.  The nurse said he had a concussion.  And Eliot, we need to hurry.”

“Why, Sophie?”

“Nate's been shot, although she said it was just a graze.  The police were going to question him. And if we don’t leave now, us also.”

Eliot could see a security guard at the end of the hall.

“Let’s go,” Eliot said, quickly grabbing Sophie by the hand, just to make sure she followed him and was safe.

The car they had rented sat in the parking lot behind the small hospital.  It had taken them three days to figure out where Nate had landed after he disappeared more than a week before.  Sophie had been frantic when she called him from London.  They had gotten on the first plane and headed out to England to track down their errant former boss.  Except once they were there, Eliot had determined that Nate had not left under his own power.

Hardison found evidence of a case on Nate’s laptop, a grainy photo of a little girl, not more than six.

“Why didn’t he tell us?”

“As far as I can tell,” Hardison started, “this was all background work.  Retrieval only.  Non-custodial parent kidnapping.”

“And he thought it would upset me too much.  Bastard,” Sophie growled.

“He had a point,” Eliot told her.

Eliot was angry that Nate had taken on a client without telling anyone, but it didn’t look to be dangerous. Only it turned out to be dangerous.  Nate hadn’t even done any legwork.  It was all on the computer as far as Hardison could tell.  What had gotten him into trouble? What had Nate uncovered?

It took three days of scrambling to figure out someone nabbed Nate.  Three days later, Hardison got a ping off of something he’d set up.  Something that Eliot did not understand at all. 

“Kendal, Northern England.  What the hell,” Eliot had mumbled to Sophie on the way there.

“I can give you an address near where he stopped. I think he stopped. The cab he was in no longer looks like it has a passenger. Oh, that’s gotta be it.  Guys, he’s heading toward some castle.  It’s in the town.  Tourist attraction. I don’t think it’s open right now though.”

The sun was starting to set by the time they’d made it to the castle grounds.  Eliot didn’t care whether they were supposed to be there or not.  They had to find Nate and fast.  Something was definitely wrong with the man.

“Sophie, stay in the car.”

Sophie just shook her head at him and opened the door to her side. He knew it wouldn’t work, but at least he tried. 

“Grounds aren’t huge,” Parker pointed out.

“Lot of ruins to search though.  Just be careful,” Sophie warned the other woman.

“Be there in five,” Eliot heard Hardison say.

Kendal Castle was in ruins, not much left other than stone walls. No one had lived here for hundreds of years.  What was the significance of this to Nate?  Why did he feel the need to run off after getting hurt and shot?  Was it the little girl?  They all knew Nate’s soft spot was children.  Those were always the hardest cases they took.  When they first started working together, Nate mostly avoided any cases dealing with kids. Eliot understood that completely. 

It had started to rain, but luckily it wasn’t falling that hard, yet.  They most definitely needed to find Nate before infection set in or blood loss or he’d fall. Eliot could think of too many possibilities to count. 

Not only did he have to find his former boss, he had to keep a close eye on Sophie too.  Nate would kill him if he didn’t, but that wasn’t the only reason to watch the dark-haired woman.

“No climbing,” Eliot chided her.  “It’s slippery.”

Sophie waved a hand at him like she heard him, but might not listen.

“I’m fine, Eliot.”  Sophie stopped in her tracks, cocking her head to the side.  “Did you hear that?”

“What?”

A faint whine, a low cough. Someone else was there.

“Hardison, Parker. Anything?”

“I got nothing.”

“I heard something,” Parker whispered.

Then there was a groan.

“Nate,” Sophie yelled.  “Please, Nate. We want to help you.”

Eliot heard scrambling, pebbles being displaced and then a blood curdling scream.  That wasn’t Nate screaming.

“Oh my god, Eliot,” Sophie gasped, running in the direction of the scream.

Eliot was faster, much faster, but the rain had started to fall harder, making the ground slicker with each minute.

“No,” he heard off in the distance. 

He knew that voice.  That definitely was their errant mastermind.  The voice was weak though. There was more scrambling, rocks moving, then silence.  Eliot could see a figure moving off in the distance at a hurried pace.  Over the man’s shoulder was a bundle. And that bundle was moving.

“Hardison, Parker, east side of the property.  Be careful.  The man might be armed.”

“Eliot, that was a gi…”

“Parker, now.”

It didn’t take long for Eliot to catch up with the large man because of the weather.

“Get out of my way,” the man said, accent strong.

Eliot knew exactly where the man originated.

“I’m gonna have to take that from you.”

The bag squirmed against the man’s shoulder.  Eliot heard a squeak coming from it.

“I don’t believe so.”

The hit to the man’s solar plexus had him dropping the bag as soon as Eliot connected. Both Parker and Hardison showed up finally, right after Eliot took the guy down with a few more well-placed punches.  The man was out cold.

“Eliot,” Parker shouted as she opened the bag.

A small arm popped out as Parker pried it open. Then a little face, eyes wide with fear.

“It’s ok,” Parker soothed the little girl.

“Are you here to save me?” the girl asked.

Eliot’s eyes opened wide in surprise.  He knew exactly who the girl was, or who she was related to.  He didn’t think he’d ever see any of them again after leaving.  Why had Nate gotten involved with this?

“Eliot,” he heard Sophie call in the distance.  “Nate. I’ve found him.”

His real mission.  He nodded to Parker as Parker picked the girl up, attempting to shield her from the rain.  Hardison followed him as Eliot climbed back up to the castle. Time to retrieve the boss.


	28. Nate Fights Moreau

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The showdown between Nate and Moreau.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes fight scenes are easy and sometimes not. This was not, for some reason.

Chapter Twenty-Eight--Nate Fights Moreau

Nate clapped his hands together, like he knew he had a plan of attack.  Mostly he didn’t, but Moreau didn’t need to know that.

“You ready, my dear?” was all he could think to say to Sophie.

“Oh, I do think I could gather some enthusiasm for the ritual.”

Parker grinned from ear to ear. Nate glared back at her, warning her to not overstep her bounds.

“Ford, if you think…” Moreau started.

“It’s what I do best.”

He really didn’t mean to gloat, but it just felt so good to have bested Moreau. What he didn’t expect was a fist to fly his way, courtesy of Moreau.  He was wondering if Moreau would do it.  It had looked like he was subdued, but now, not so much. Nate was momentarily stunned, but managed to duck his next blow to the head.  His ribs were already sore from that first punch.  Nate’s right hook caught Moreau on the jaw, sending him reeling backwards. 

“You fight dirty,” Moreau announced as he spit out blood from his mouth.

“I fight for what is mine.”

“She that good?  All those scars, her limbs withering away from being tortured.”

“What makes him think I withered?  Bloody bastard.”

Nate couldn’t be distracted by Sophie now.  He had a job to finish.  Moreau needed to be taken down.  Moreau was distracted for a moment when a murmur from the crowd made him turn his head.  That gave Nate the opportunity to send him flying from an uppercut to Moreau’s chin. His head snapped back, sending him to the ground with a hard thump.  Nate’s boot connected with Moreau’s leg. Only Moreau shot his hand out and attempted to twist Nate to the ground.  Nate had seen that one coming, getting out of his way just in time before Moreau sent him crashing.  Jerking his jacket off, Nate rolled up his sleeves of his dress shirt. Sure, Sophie had said that men wearing suits had gone out of style ages ago, but this made him most comfortable. Except for the tie.  He really still hated the tie.  Loosening it, he put his fists up for Moreau to challenge him.

It took a few more punches from each side for Nate to realize that if he didn’t end it soon, he could seriously be hurt.  Moreau could fight and had the height advantage. Of course, he wasn’t as fast as Nate was, which gave Nate an advantage.  Nate kicked out, aiming for Moreau’s knee.  Eliot cheered him on from the sidelines, watching Nate’s back and Sophie.  Nate heard something crack in Moreau’s leg as he landed another well-placed kick.  Eliot definitely was a good teacher.  Moreau went down, clutching his leg between his bloodied hands.

“You broke my leg.”

“Oh well.  No modern medicine to help you out with that one,” Hardison chided the man.

A few guards attempted to move in, but with Eliot’s growl, they backed off.  As Nate turned to Sophie, now he knew why the crowd had murmured behind his back and why Moreau had been distracted. She’d pulled her gown off to reveal a shimmering shift beneath it.  He could see the outline of her body, which meant everyone else could also. He almost retrieved his jacket to place over her body, but he knew she’d get angry that he was trying to help.

“Take him away.”

The palace guards actually listened to her, dragging Moreau up onto his feet, the one leg limp.  He screamed in pain.

“I think that the dungeons are nice this time of year.”

The people behind Sophie cheered with that.  Nate had no idea how beloved their ruler was, but with that cheer, it made him feel a bit more secure with Sophie’s position now.

“Soph, maybe you should, the clothes, or lack thereof.  We should…”

Nate was stuttering now, having Sophie directly in front of him.

“The ritual?” she panted.

“You’re not going through what I think you’re going through, are you?”

“Possibly?”

“The baby?”

“Is fine.”

There wasn’t much to the shift she had on, shimmering in the light coming through the windows.  You could hear a pin drop in that room, as all the people stood transfixed by Sophie, including Nate.

“I seem to have a date with you, Mr. Ford.”

“I get to watch,” Parker added.

“No,” the other two yelled back at her.

“But you said.”

Luckily his mouth hadn’t gotten hit by Moreau, but his face did.  He could feel all the bumps and bruises from the fight as Sophie grasped him, pulling his head down as she grabbed the back of his head.  The kiss to end all kisses.  He really didn’t care that there were almost a hundred people watching them, and maybe possibly more on some kind of broadcast that Hardison had set up.

“Two days,” he murmured into her ear.

“Two blissful days while you are my servant.”

Nate groaned in more ways than one.  “You are going to kill me.”

“Not yet.  I have use for you, my husband.”

Her hands roamed as the people watched on. He stopped her hands, pointing to Eliot that now would be a good time to find them a room without cameras.

“They all have them. Sorry.”

“I’ll just scrub the footage.  Don’t worry.”

Hardison was right.  He could go in and erase everything.  Grabbing his hand, Sophie led him back to their chambers instead of the royal chambers. Nate most certainly did not want to be in Moreau’s lair.  The place would have to be scrubbed clean.

Sophie jumped on him just as he slammed the door to the room. Her long legs wrapped around his torso, feet crossed in the back.

“We should, now.”

As he kissed her back, he realized that now he was just as affected as she was.  Pulling up her shift, he found she had no undergarments on. His hands fumbled for the opening of his pants, her hands tangling with his.  Pushing it open and down just slightly, her hand found what it was looking for, making him groan in pleasure.

“Me. Now.”

The wall was a good a place as any as he pushed into Sophie, hearing her sigh of relief.  Her eyes were almost black in color, focusing on his face as he slid in and out of her at a rapid pace.  She squeezed him tight as she peaked, head thrown back in ecstasy. 

“Keep going,” she instructed.

Keep going? He felt like he was ready to explode.  He felt another orgasm wash over her as she screamed out his name, collapsing against him as she did.  Two more thrusts and he was gone.

“That going to be a thing?” he shakily asked as he tried to walk her over to the bed.

“How many times do you think you can go?”

Nate sputtered out an incoherent answer, knowing that Sophie would do as much damage as she possibly could do.

“Obviously not enough for you.”

They were still joined as Nate sat down on the bed. He felt himself stir just a bit as she squirmed in his lap.  This was not possible, what she could do to him.

“It’s gotta be some kind of drug.”

Pushing him down, she threw off her shift, revealing her beautiful body to him as she did. 

“Tell you what. You survive the ritual and I’ll tell you all its secrets.  Deal?”

Did he want to find out how she did it, how she made him feel?  

“Deal.”

“If you survive.”

“I’ll survive.”

She twisted her hips.

“Want to survive,” as she dropped her breasts down near his mouth.

“Maybe just take a breather then.”

Her hand dug into his bicep, her mouth descending to his neck.

“Hey, come back up here,” he wanted her to do.

Her hips started to move again. He stilled her just so he could taste her.  Her scream of pleasure as he sucked her nipple inside made him groan too.  He’d draw this out, make sure they were satisfied, not to make it to the finish line.

“Now, Nate. Now.”

He thrust up in her as she steadied his head against her breast.  It didn’t take long before she was climbing again, her heat and wetness making him gasp until he shouted her name. She collapsed on top of him, breath hot against his neck as she did.

“Time out,” he panted.

“I agree.”


	29. There Must Be a Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They find Nate. Stuff happens.

Chapter Twenty-Nine--There Must Be a Story

“Sophie, be careful, dammit,” Sophie heard Eliot yell at her as she climbed over a low wall.

Nate was huddled against the opposite wall, blood streaming down his face.  He must have confronted the kidnapper, the one who had taken the little girl.  She’d have to find out exactly why he’d not involved her.  She was furious, scared, and very, very tired right at that moment.  And a bit cold too.  Damn rain.

“Nate.”

He didn’t move, looking off into the distance.  Head wounds can be tricky, she thought.  He looked like a lost little boy, huddled against the stone. She wanted to just gather him up, hug him tight so he knew that she was there for him.  Before all this, he was going through a bit of a crisis, not working anymore.  Was that the right course for him to follow?  Did he need the thrill of the chase to make himself feel alive?

Sophie had found over the last year that not having a job on the horizon relaxed her, made her more open.  Her acting classes were so much fun, she was hoping to add students.  Nate had moped, hoping that she was going to spend more time with him, which she did when asked, but she could tell something was off.  Was being out of the game good for him?

Approaching him, she slowly came down to his level, being careful not to slip on the ground before her.  Gently placing her hand on his, he lifted his head to look at her.

“Sophie,” he said, voice rough.

He certainly couldn’t see her cry since they both were drenched from the rain.  Nate’s eyes went wide.  Attempting to get up from his stance, Sophie tried to tug at him, to make sure he didn’t bolt again. It had taken them so long just to find him, she didn’t want to lose him again.

“The girl,” he said as he wrenched his hand away from hers.

“It’s ok. Parker has her. She’s safe.”

Leaning up against the stone, he closed his eyes.  Sliding down again, he hit the ground with a thump.

“Nate,” came Eliot’s voice.

Thank goodness he wasn’t very far away. There was no way she was getting Nate out of there by herself.  He was way too heavy and she didn’t have the strength right at that moment.

Eliot leaned down, to check Nate’s head injury.  Sophie knew she needed to sit down.  The experience from the last few days was taxing to say the least.  Having her husband missing for a week did nothing for her health.  Both Parker and Hardison appeared finally, girl cuddled up against Parker.  Hardison had taken off his jacket and placed it around the girl to shield her from the rain as much as he could. 

“Isabella,” she heard Nate say.

How did he know this girl? There must be a story.  That had to wait.  They needed to get Nate back to the hospital.  Getting knocked on the head more than once probably scrambled his brain more than he’d ever experienced.

“Hardison, help me with Nate,” Eliot asked as he put his arm around the man to help him up.

As Sophie turned, she felt the pain, sharper than it was before, but she’d ignore it for now.  They had to get Nate help. She had to wait. As they walked slowly back to the car, Sophie lagged behind, hoping that she could control what was happening to her.  Leaning up against a stone wall, she gasped as the pain hit her harder than before. She had ignored the pain for most of the day.  Now she couldn’t.

“This can’t be happening.  Dammit.”

She had to help Nate.  She begged, she prayed that the pain would stop.  Only the rest of her body had other plans.

“Sophie,” she heard Eliot cry in the distance.

He came flying back to her, Hardison now supporting Nate.

“How long?”

“What?” she answered, not knowing what he was asking.

“How long have you been in labor?”

Dammit, she didn’t even want him to say what was going on with her. 

“This morning.  I’m fine.”

Another pain hit her like a freight train, doubling her over.

“How far apart?”

“I don’t know.  Less than five minutes.”

“Oh shit,” he told her as he grabbed her hand to lead her to the car.

“Don’t you oh shit me, Eliot Spencer.  I am not having this baby right now.  It’s too early.”

“Honey, she has other plans.”

They all managed to pile into the car with Hardison driving.  Luckily the hospital was only a short drive. Nate leaned up against her, taking her hand in his.  He was only semiconscious, but somehow was comforting her when she needed it.

“I’m drenched and I don’t have my things. And Nate?  He was supposed to do all that birthing stuff.  We had the next month and a half to deal with that.”

“Could have been wrong about the due date,” Eliot told her as he watched her in the car.

“I can’t do this alone.  Nate can’t.”

“Just have the doctor give me somethin,” Nate slurred out, trying to raise his head.

“No matter what, we’re here. You got this.”

“No, I don’t.”

Another pain washed over her as Hardison pulled up to the entrance. 

Sophie was shuffled off to the maternity ward to be looked at while Nate was looked over by the same doctor that had admitted him not a few hours before.  It didn’t take long before Parker came racing through the door, looking like she was running a footrace.  Sophie sighed as she watched Parker shuffle her feet back and forth, not knowing what to do.

“Ok, girl is settled.  Being looked after.  I’ll stay with you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do. Eliot’s trying to convince the doctor to let Nate up here.  He’s not as woozy as he was before, which means he’s kinda getting annoying, so I think he’s feeling a little better.”

Another contraction hit as Parker babbled.

“No, no.  What do I do? Just tell me.”

Sophie could see the distress Parker was under.  “Just hold my hand. I’m scared.”

“I can tell,” Parker answered with tears in her eyes.

Parker stayed while the doctor examined Sophie, declaring her in actual labor and not just false.  Sophie cried a bit at that, wondering what she had done wrong.  The doctor reassured her that she did nothing wrong.  And that possibly the due date was wrong, or that the little one was just ready to come into the world.

“Figures that she’d come early.  Look at who her father is.”

Parker snorted at that, never letting Sophie’s hand go.

“I am very annoyed at the moment, darling,” Sophie said as she looked down at her contracting stomach.  Another contraction hit.

Luckily Parker had very strong hands, because she must have squeezed them very tight.

“I don’t want to do this without Nate,” Sophie cried right after the last contraction.

“Sophie, be there in a jiff,” Parker could hear Hardison’s voice.

None of them had taken out their ear pieces.  Nate didn’t have one on him, so he couldn’t have heard her plea. Only a few minutes later, there was Nate in a wheelchair, head bandaged, being pushed by Eliot in the door.

It didn’t take long for their daughter to be born, surrounded by her family.  Nate sat by her side, in obvious pain himself, but not complaining, even as she squeezed so tight, she must have left bruises.  Everyone cried, Hardison looked away at the last moment, hand on his mouth.  Eliot laughed as he heard the baby’s cries while Parker stroked Sophie’s hair the whole time.

“She’s beautiful,” Parker said as they all saw the baby for the first time.

“She’s perfect,” Eliot added.

“She’s so small,” Hardison told the group, amazed.

The doctor and nurse shooed them out finally, to finish all that they needed to finish with except for Nate.  He laid his head next to Sophie’s while she cried too. 

“Sorry,” he whispered in her ear.

“There must be a story.”

“Yeah.”


	30. Nate's Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Need an epilogue so I can wrap everything up.

Chapter Thirty--Nate's Back

“We don’t even have a car seat much less clothes and diapers.”

Nate woke up hearing Sophie’s voice.  There had been some wrangling about whether he’d get to actually stay in Sophie’s room, but in the end, Eliot had somehow convinced the staff that it was for the best.  His side hurt and his head was still a bit fuzzy.

The door opened to the three younger members, them each carrying bundles in their arms.  Car seat, blankets, diapers, clothes, things for Sophie to wear.

“Babies sure do need lots of stuff,” Hardison said, shuddering.

Eliot was ticking off what else they’d need, but Nate put his hand up for him to stop.

“We have most of this stuff at home.”

“Which happens to be across a very big ocean.  You ain’t going anywhere until that head heals, Nate.  Might be weeks. We found a place to stay too.”

All Nate wanted to do was go home with his family.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” he could hear Parker say as he closed his eyes for a moment.

“I was not gonna say it.  Parker, TMI.”

“Oh, just get over it. The baby’s hungry.”

Parker peppered Sophie with questions about babies and nursing and changing it.  Nate watched and listened to their byplay, as Hardison’s eyes got wider and wider from all the things that you had to do for a tiny baby.

“We just, you have to do all that, for a baby? Damn.  Being parents is hard.”

“Wait until you see how many diapers you have to change,” Eliot commented.

“Ok, I am not on diaper duty.  Nah.  No way.”

Sophie smiled his way as they both listened to the other three argue back and forth about the baby.

“So, if we set up a schedule,” Eliot started.

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Parker added.

“Hardison can change the first diaper,” Eliot remarked.

As Nate laid his head back, he glanced her way, mouthing that he loved her. She reached her hand to his, touching fingertips.

“This really does bloody hurt,” she told him as the others chatted.

“Lanolin. Tea bags.  I found this article,” Eliot said as the other folded baby clothes.

 


	31. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end. Hope you enjoyed.

Epilogue

“What were you thinking?”

Nate wondered the same thing himself.  He’d gotten in over his head.  It was a simple case really.  He was evaluating a security team.  They failed the test, taking him down with them, along with a little girl.  That little girl was important, was innocent of what her father had committed.  Just like the little girl in his arms, so tiny and so vulnerable.  His brain was scrambled, from lack of sleep and not having healed enough.  He’d sleep later.  The bundle in his arms was more important.

“Kind of sexy if you ask me.”

Sophie. He felt like he’d failed her.  She wasn’t supposed to be involved.  Hell, he wasn’t even supposed to leave the confines of his own house to solve this one.  Nate wouldn’t fail the two of them again. He’d never put them in danger.

He half lay on a sofa in the house that Hardison had managed to rent on a moment’s notice.  English to a T.  A fire warmed the room where he snuggled with his newborn daughter.  Her tiny fingers were wound around one of his much larger ones. He really had wanted to move a few moments before, but her sleep would not be disturbed by him anytime soon.

“I’ve been beaten, kidnapped, shot and couldn’t remember who I was there for a minute.”

“All in a day’s work,” Sophie said as she sat down next to him, leaning into him.  “Oh dear, I think she looks like you.”

“Not sure that’s a good thing.”

“Either big brown eyes or big blue eyes.  Either way, you’ll be beating them off with a stick.”

All seven pounds, five ounces, cheeks round and rosy, ten fingers, ten toes, had the appetite of a champ.

“She has Eliot for that.  Hardison can run a background check on him, or possibly her.”

“She already has you wrapped around her little fingers.”

“Just like her mother.”

“Indeed.”

Sophie breathed into him.  He could feel her eyelashes against his neck as she snuggled down next to him. Her hand came up to caress the one that held his daughter against his front.

“Don’t do that again.”

“I never intended.”

“Trouble magnet.”

“You know, now you’re not the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Sophie sighed out, laughing a little.

“I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“There is that.”

As he turned his head, Sophie turned hers so that their faces were less than an inch apart.

“Thank you.”

He could see the tears in her eyes. She knew exactly what he was thinking.  As the two of them settled down for a short nap, because with his daughter’s appetite it would be short, Nate thanked his lucky stars that Sophie had come back into his life when she did. She saved him, over and over again, from the monsters in the dark.

 

Eliot peeked in on the scene in the living room, leaving the new family alone to get some rest.  They’d all need it in the next few weeks.

“So cute,” Parker whispered in his ear.

Parker rarely scared him anymore.  She’d make slight noises, telling him that she was close.

“We’ll see how long that lasts.  She’ll be waking up every hour on the hour to feed.  You do not want to change a diaper in the next week or so. The smell.”

“You love it.”

“Yeah, kinda.”

“So why don’t you have your own?”

How could he tell her? That he’d never want to put any child in a dangerous situation. He’d seen too much, done too much to ever do that.

“Nah.”

“The little girl. Did her mother come yet?”

“Yeah. Reunited.”

“Did you talk to her? I mean, you knew her, back in the day.”

Did Eliot talk to his worst enemy’s wife, the one woman who’d almost captured his heart?  He wondered if Moreau had known, that his own wife hadn’t been faithful to him while they were married.  She’d done it to hurt Damien, just as he’d hurt his wife by taking too many women to bed to count.

“I knew her. I don’t anymore.  I’m not sure why she contacted Nate.  I think she knew someone was going to kidnap Isabella.”

Eliot stepped from the door back into the kitchen to finish his preparations for dinner.  He handed Parker a few dishes to put away while he started to chop vegetables.

“Nate doesn’t know, does he? That Isabella is Moreau’s daughter?”

Eliot thought he probably did. It was a kid though.  Nate possibly knew more, but didn’t mention anything else in the last few days.  He was too wrapped up in his own, brand new daughter, healing from the injuries the kidnappers had inflicted.

“Nothing escapes that man’s notice.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

The two worked in silence as Eliot sautéed vegetables to go into a stew he was making. 

“So, what’s up with you?”

“What makes you think something is up?”

Their voices were quiet in the cozy house, her head close to his. They’d gotten closer in the last few years, with Nate and Sophie retired. The three of them were now inseparable.  As Eliot breathed in her familiar scent, he knew he’d never get tired of Parker’s antics, Hardison’s smile. They were his world now. Moreau’s world was far away, just as Isabella was now. It was for the best.

The kiss on the cheek was not unexpected.  Parker was affectionate when she wanted to be. 

“If you want to talk.”

“I know.  Now get out of my kitchen. You’re distracting me.”

Parker laughed a little, then pulled him into a blistering kiss, now more practiced than she had been almost seven years ago when he’d first laid eyes on her.

He’d pour all his energy in seeing that Nate and Sophie’s daughter had what she needed. Isabella was never his, could never know that he and her mother had done something that Eliot immediately regretted.  She’d been born right after Eliot had moved to Los Angeles and the formation of Leverage, Inc.  Isabella would be safer with her mother, surrounded by security, even if it was Moreau’s security.  He spared no expense to keep his family safe.  She’d grow up thinking her father was in prison for too many crimes to count.

Maybe Parker and Hardison would have one. Then he could really dote on the kid.  The little girl in the next room would be too smart for her own good with the parents she had.  He’d definitely have to watch out for that one. She’d need all the help an uncle could give her.

 

“Ok, so you did not discuss with me the fact that this could last through the whole pregnancy?”

Nate rubbed his wife, his queen’s belly as he felt his child kick back.  She had not a stitch of clothing on, opting for not putting anything on after their last round of lovemaking.

“Well, only once a month, Nate.  Not like you should complain.”

No, he would not complain. He reaped the benefits just as much if not more than she did.  He was at her every beck and call now.  He’d never seen a more beautiful woman.  Her skin glowed in the darkness of their room, moonlight streaming in.

“Well, for two days once a month, your highness.”

Sophie snorted back at his using of her title.

“More like my roundness.  Oh dear, I feel like a beached whale.”

“Nonsense.”

As she rolled over to lie next to him, he lowered his head to her breast, tongue rolling over it. Her sigh of pleasure rippled through him, right down to his toes.

“You even taste different.”

Taking her inside his mouth, he sucked until her fingers pulled him back just slightly.

“Just because the doctor said to do that to see if I will go into labor does not mean you can do that constantly.”

“Just following doctor’s orders.”

He quickly found the other side, not wanting to neglect it.  He took his time, felt as she squirmed against him, hand raking through his hair.  It might be a while before he could do this again. It would take Sophie time to get back on her feet and heal.  He’d enjoy this as much as he could until it happened.

“You can commiserate with Sterling.  I hear that he hasn’t slept much in the last few weeks.”

He and Maggie’s child had been born three months before. The boy supposedly never slept, or that was Sterling’s take on it.

“At least he’s not scheming against you right at the moment.”

“Oh Nate.  He’ll toe the line.  Parker on the other hand.”

Neither one knew what to do about Parker.  She certainly was not conventional. 

“It’ll slow her down.”

“Don’t count on it.”

“Eliot will slow her down.”

“Don’t count on it.”

“Eliot and Hardison will slow her down?”

Sophie laughed as his hands worked their way down her body, kneading, stroking, until Sophie was shaking.

“Nate, let’s just do this once before the baby is born.”

“I’m getting there,” he chided.

If he could draw this out, he might have Sophie to himself for a little while longer. Climbing directly behind her, his fingers found her ready and able. She gasped as he gently thrust into her.  Her body twisted until he could take a nipple into his mouth.

“Don’t hurt yourself.”

“Feels too good,” she groaned as he sped up his efforts.

Sophie cried out as she tightened around him, contracting until he finished what he had started.  Kissing her shoulder, he eased out of her, hoping that she hadn’t pulled a muscle with her maneuver. 

He climbed back over her so she didn’t have to move an inch, so that he could put his head in between her breasts as she caught her breath.

“Nate.”

“Yes.”

The hand that had been running through his hair dug into his scalp now.

“Sophie?”

“Yes.”

“How long have you been in labor?”

“Oh, bloody hell. I can never get anything past you.”

“You almost managed to draw blood.”

“Now you see why I wanted to you to get a move on.”

“We had sex while you were in labor?”

“No one said I couldn’t.  Besides, it supposed to be days away.”

“Is there another ritual?”

She smacked his shoulder. “It’s not like I’ve birthed a child before. I have no earthly idea.”

“You should have asked Maggie.”

“Just what I want.  Sterling knowing about my sex life.”

Nate chuckled a little. The man was a little bit creepy, but he wouldn’t tell Sophie that.

“Touch me.”

He just found out his wife was possibly in labor and she wanted him to touch her intimately.  He knew that voice. He never could resist that voice.

“Is it safe?”

“Yes, you dolt. Hands, now.  And whatever else you were doing with that mouth of yours.”

As he buried his face into her ample cleavage because he was really reaping the benefits of pregnancy on that front, his hands slowly made their way back down her body.  Only her hand grabbed his hand and thrust it in between her legs, a groan escaping as she did.

“Eager,” he hummed against her breast.

“In a hurry.  Before another contraction hits.”

“How long?”

“Ten minutes, give or take.”

The more research he’d done into the ritual known as the Macnas had told him a lot.  The fertility ritual was not supposed to happen every month.  He’d come to believe that Sophie just used it as an excuse to pin him down to the bed and have her way with him, many times and in as many positions as humanly possible.  It wasn’t always once a month too.  Several times a month was the average. Complaints though were not tolerated, nor were they warranted. He’d enjoy it while he could.

It took less than five minutes for her to peak, almost cramping his fingers as they had thrust inside her. The contraction hit not two minutes later.  She was dealing with them like a champ.  Nate hoped she knew she wasn’t even close to giving birth.

“Going to screw your way through labor?”

“As much as possible,” she answered as the tightness in her stomach lessened.

Two more contractions later, she had him behind her, on his knees, thrusting as fast as he could before the next one.  That last one must have worked since Sophie settled down for a nap against him, warm in his embrace.

When he awoke a few hours later, Sophie was walking the room, occasionally holding her abdomen, stroking it, talking to it.

“Ok?”

“Yes. Walking helps.”

“How long?”

“Less than ten minutes apart now.”

Another contraction hit, doubling her over in pain.  Nate bounced out of bed, naked as ever, but grabbed her to lean her up against him just in case she fell.

“You should probably get dressed, darling.”

“Why?  Oh, yeah.”

“Doctor should be arriving shortly.”

And so it began. It wasn’t until early the next day until Sophie delivered the most beautiful baby boy he’d ever seen.  A full head of hair, chubby cheeks and big, round eyes had Nate falling in love all over again.

“Good job,” he whispered in Sophie’s ear as the doctor looked the baby over.

“I had help.”

“Lots of help.”

“Thank you.”

“For Soph?”

“I never thought. Never dreamed this could happen.”

 

Nate awoke from an odd dream, one where Sophie was a queen and just had a baby boy.  His tiny baby girl was asleep in her bassinet, lips pursed to look like she was trying to nurse in her sleep.  Someone had put a tiny bow on the top of her head, probably Parker.  Sophie was curled up on the bed, exhausted from nursing every two hours. He’d try to take the next shift, if just to change a diaper or two so she could rest. 

After Sam died, Nate never thought this possible. A dream come true. Sophie, a baby, his best friends, all under one roof.  He’d cherish it forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Macnas is a Gaelic word meaning wild, unbridled enthusiasm
> 
> McBain’s Dictionary meaning: wantonness 
> 
> Story takes place in a different universe where there is technology, but it has been banned by the leader. There is industry, but only to benefit the leader, which happened to be the magistrate Moreau. Sophie was supposed to be the queen, but was exiled before she could come of age. Lots of rules to follow, such as who could marry whom. The four were exiled for approximately fifteen years. I totally made up the ritual, derived from a Gaelic word I found.  
> So was this Nate’s dream or parallel universes? It could be taken as either. Both men were lost, damaged, and found family. You can read it however you want. I started off this story to be very bleak, because that’s the way it came out. It morphed into something so much bigger than I had anticipated. I’m glad it did. There was a lot of sex and a bit of implied violence in this fic. Eliot got the brunt of that, but he’s still loved in the end no matter what.  
> Sex during labor? I looked it up. It’s a thing. Not my thing because damn, too much pain. It kind of fit with the storyline, so I went with it. I even looked up how many times a couple could have sex and sexual release. So many studies. In Sophie’s world, I kind of accounted for them having sex so much to make it seem like they were both infected in a way, which they were because I put a name to it. So there. I invented something to make it happen.  
> I wanted to give each world a happy ending, so I did. I hope I wrapped up each world so you know what happened. I didn’t go into great depth because I was done with this universe. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. On to other fics!


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